Stabilizing Families

“I will work more overtime, somehow, so we can pay something each week. We will do whatever it takes, if you can just help us until we’re able to pay you back.” Crossroads Ministry received the phone call on August 5, 2015, from a working mother whose two teenagers currently attend Estes Park public schools. Her husband’s disability makes household income erratic, but he does professional work in his home office to supplement the family’s earnings as his health permits. The mother works as many overtime hours as her full-time job will allow, as well as an additional part-time job to help ends meet.

The crisis was straightforward. The family’s primary vehicle was completely out of commission. They had applied a significant down payment toward the repair, but more than $2,500 worth of work remained in order for the vehicle to be operable. Their other vehicle, while technically operational for the moment, had now deteriorated to the point that it was unsafe to drive.

A local mechanic confirmed that the cost of repairs on the second vehicle exceeded its value. The only logical course would be to repair the first vehicle which, apart from the one major repair, would be reliable and safe.

But the cash-strapped family had no way to pay.

At stake was much more than a car repair. The woman’s job – and the family’s livelihood – was hanging in the balance.

One of the priorities of Crossroads Ministry is stabilizing a resident family in crisis by providing short-term assistance, although our help never comes in the form of cash or a loan directly to a client. The family did qualify for services from Crossroads, since their household income totaled 185% or less of the federal poverty level. Still, even though we do assist with transportation needs from time to time – including critical vehicle repairs, the cost of this repair made our desire to help this family in need especially daunting.

In this instance, it was one of Crossroads Ministry’s most valuable services – case management – that made the difference. At our request, a valuable partner in ministry – the Estes Park Extension of the Salvation Army, agreed to pick up slightly more than one-third of the cost of the repair. “Bright Christmas,” with special concern for the two school-age children, also pitched in with a significant portion. The mechanic did his part by offering a discount on the total cost, and  – thanks to the generosity of our many donors and friends, Crossroads picked up the balance of the repair out of our own program budget.

Thanks to caring partnerships, a family on the verge of calamity remains stable and intact.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

–from Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (NRSV)