Home for the Holidays: Your Gift Keeps Families Together

During this holiday season, families with children, individuals, and US Veterans across our community face uncertainty, instability, and fear because they are living in their cars, the woods, on the streets traumatized by homelessness.  Your one-time or monthly gift puts joy in their hearts. You help them to believe that they really can be home for the holidays. 

The Reality of Homelessness During the Holidays

Dommyneak Mahoney a devoted single mother of two young boys and pregnant with her third was one of these families. After exhausting every temporary option of living with relatives, she found herself with no place left to go – she and her young children faced homelessness. She added her name to the waiting list for the Charlotte CARE Center’s (formerly the Homeless Coalition of Charlotte County) family shelter and called faithfully every week, praying a room would become available before time ran out. 

As the weeks passed, Dommyneak’s situation grew more desperate.

A Mother’s Journey from Desperation to Stability

Living out of her car with two little boys while pregnant became impossible. With nowhere else to turn, she explored a heartbreaking alternative: a local agency that could temporarily care for her children. Tearfully, she signed the paperwork and even met the family who would take in her boys. Though she believed they would be safe, her heart ached at the thought of being separated from them, especially with a new baby on the way. She was scheduled to hand over her boys that Tuesday. 

Then, on Monday morning, everything changed. Dommyneak received the call she had been praying for.  A family room opened at the Charlotte CARE Center. She wept with relief. She would not have to give up her children. She would not have to sleep in her car another night.  

That very evening, she and her boys, and the child she was carrying, were welcomed into the family shelter. Finally safe, together, cared for, and nourished.  

Your gift during this season of joy changes lives like Dommyneak’s and her children’s. 

Within just 45 days of entering shelter, a new housing opportunity opened, and the Charlotte CARE Center’s housing team helped Dommyneak move into an apartment of her own. The team covered her initial move-in costs and provided ongoing rental support, giving her the stability and breathing room needed to work toward self-sufficiency. She was also connected with the Early Learning Coalition for childcare so she could return to work and begin saving before the baby arrived. 

Two months later, her baby was born more than a month early but safely home with his mother and brothers. Though both mom and baby experienced minor health complications, they recovered surrounded by stability, love, and the security of their new home. Recently, Dommyneak returned to the Charlotte CARE Center to introduce her newborn and thank the staff whose support made this new chapter possible. 

Charlotte CARE Center Helps Families Rebuild Their Lives

Since becoming the Charlotte CARE Center in August 2024, the food center has provided healthy nourishment serving tens of thousands of meals to people who are homeless and seeking a gateway to housing, and distributed thousands of pantry boxes to neighbors in the community, while the loving staff at the shelter have helped numerous families, individuals, and US Veterans secure permanent housing and rebuild their lives with dignity. 

Your gift this Christmas ensures that moms like Dommyneak and her children can be home for the holidays. 

Sincerely, 

P.S. The need is great, and there are many more families, individuals, and US Veterans waiting for help. Your generosity with a one-time or monthly gift changes the trajectory of entire households, helping them find a home, build stability, and create a future filled with joy, hope, and possibility.