Breaking the Cycle is a case management program developed by Crisis Control Ministry to help our repeat clients gain self-sufficiency. We aim to teach budgeting skills, aid in the job search, link clients to appropriate community resources, and direct clients toward education opportunities.
When redefining our mission to include helping people become self-sufficient, we realized there is a need for programs that focus on the root causes preventing those dependent on social services from becoming self-sufficient including: lack of knowledge of available resources; no financial independence or literacy; the inability/knowledge to seek employment; lack of education and/or job training; access to affordable housing and childcare; a general shortage of self-worth and confidence; and more. Our case manager works one-to-one with each participant to establish what their goals are and then designs a work plan with strategies on how to achieve them. After a period of one year, we hope that our clients are able to plan for future crises and maintain their households with little or no emergency assistance.
For more information, please email or call our Longterm Case Manager, Chelsea Franzese at cfranzese@crisiscontrol.org or 336-724-7453 extension 1021.
A Breaking the Cycle Success Story
The most recent success story from Breaking the Cycle is a forty-year-old woman with six children. From her contact history, she would appear to be a user of the system. However, after an in-depth interview with our case manager, the real facts came out. The client had worked for twenty years when her husband left her. She subsequently became disabled and got caught in the long wait for disability assistance. She and her children could not exist on Work First and a small disability check for her son without frequent agency assistance. Shortly after enrolling in our program, the client was awarded disability and moved from a very low income to $3,000 per month. She was so overwhelmed that she had no idea whether to spend or save, nor did she know how to do either. After budget counseling and follow through, our client is now responsibly handling her money and paying her bills on time.
