In 2021, Domanasha Price left Wilmington for an exciting job opportunity in Charleston. But it wasn’t what she thought it would be.
"I kind of went into like a real depressing moment, and I wanted to leave, and I didn't have anywhere to go. I wanted to be back here in North Carolina, Leland, to be exact. I wanted to be back home," she told WHQR.
But on a desperate call with her Medicaid providers, she heard about the resources that could help her.
"The first group that called was the Help Hub, and they made sure that I had food, they sent in a navigator to help find a place to live. And it was like a lot, between trying to find somewhere to go and things like that," she explained. "And I ended up finding a private landlord. Contacted the Health Hub, and they sent everything that I needed to move in.”
That was under the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, a now-defunct state program that provided life-changing interventions for people in need.
After the HOP program ended, Help Hub has been supported primarily by donations from local churches — and a few small grants from local organizations — which have allowed it to support all kinds of people in crisis, whether it’s housing, healthcare, utilities, or other emergencies that a bit of money can solve.
And the need is rising. Compared to last year, the number of visitors is up 28%, and 37% of visitors were coming for the first time.
Nikki McLaurin is the housing navigator for the Hub and says their organization is meant to fill in the gap when it feels impossible to make ends meet.
“Our clients fall between 30 and 80% area median income, so they have to meet those parameters. And you know, most of my clients are people who are working really hard. Some of them have more than one job. And something unexpectedly just comes up in their lives — that you can't prepare for everything," she said.
The Help Hub is there to fill the gap when that unexpected thing comes up — an unusually high power bill, a car repair, or a gap in a paycheck from an illness. Often, it’s not a lot of money. But Help Hub director Sonja McFarland says they have seen an increase in the amount people need, which she says is because energy bills have gone up.
"The first quarter of last year, it was like $190 on average, and now it's $237. Some of the funding we got from HOP has raised the amount we can give," she said.
The program originated in 2015, according to McFarland.
"We convinced three of the downtown churches to engage with the Harrelson Center in opening a program," she said.
The idea was to consolidate the church's benevolence funds, and bring their charitable efforts under one roof, helping pastors and faith leaders become more effective and efficient with their charitable work.
"We help with basic emergency financial needs, whether it be in our four main areas of focus are housing, utilities, transportation, and in 2015 we were graced with a Health Navigator from Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear to help us with questions about health," she added.
For non-housing costs, the cap is $500, and residents can apply once a year. But with McLaurin’s new role as housing navigator, the Help Hub can do a bit more — even helping with a security deposit or first month’s rent.
Sometimes McLaurin helps a person move because the rent in their current apartment is way too high for their income. She'll place them in a LIHTC apartment — those are units with rent controls powered by tax credits — dropping their rent from $1600 to something more like $1100.
"Sometimes, you know, it may only go down $300 a month, but even that is the difference between stability and instability," she said.
The Hub also has financial literacy classes, and the staff work with people on their budgets — especially McLaurin, who does an intensive 6 weeks of case management with her clients.
McFarland said that case management can be huge.
"If it were a gap that needs to be filled, greater than the $500 that we could provide, and you know that they're going to be fine in a month, maybe six weeks, but needed a little guidance, needed our budgeting class that we offer, needed someone to check in with them weekly," she said.
Those who get the traditional, smaller amount of support from the Hub get a 30-minute consultation on their budget and available resources, but the housing navigator gives ongoing support for more than a month.
For the new housing navigator, there have been some real successes. Out of 56 clients who’ve finished the program over the past year, 13 avoided evictions, 21 moved into new rentals, and 15 were able to remain in their current rentals.
A few homeowners got support too — preventing two foreclosures and helping with some needed repairs for another.
Some clients didn’t get help. They either stopped communicating or, unfortunately, got evicted despite McLaurin’s best efforts. But the Hub has certainly helped a lot of families like Domanasha’s survive the trials of economic stress.
Domanasha is now working full-time at Port City Java and making ends meet, and she hopes to someday go back to school to become a dental hygienist. She’s grateful that Help Hub was there to fill the gaps she needed.
"I love all of them there, and that's my family, and I'm thankful for them.”
Those who want to reach the Help Hub, either to volunteer or to seek help, can find info at their website.
