Starting over can be overwhelming, and knowing where to ask for help makes it so much easier. Matthew and Cristine are a young couple that moved to Maryville last year. Matthew had a good job that paid almost all the bills until he lost it a month ago. Cristine works at a daycare and her income is not enough to cover all the bills alone until Matthew gets a new job. It takes both of them working full time to cover basic necessities like rent, utilities, and food. 

When rent came due again this month and Cristine’s salary was not enough to cover it, she called Good Neighbors on the recommendation of a coworker. Cristine and Matthew made an appointment to come in and speak with a coach about assistance. During the appointment the Good Neighbors coach helped them figure out how to make some small changes to their budget to help ease the burden of losing an income. In the meantime, Good Neighbors helped them with a portion of their rent and shared several community resources including employment opportunities. Both Matthew and Cristine agreed that they needed to get higher paying jobs, so they could build an emergency fund.

As part of the assistance process, GNBC helps to pay for the last portion of the bill due. This plan is the same for everyone that we help. Sometimes it takes a couple weeks for neighbors to raise the balance of the bill. During this time the GNBC volunteers are in communication with our neighbors to make sure that we can keep up with the timeline and stay in compliance with their lease agreement. This is another way we advocate on behalf of our neighbors with their landlords or the utility company.

Matthew was able to find a new job within the following weeks that would help them on their journey to become stable once more and build for the future!