Meet “Amanda”

As donors to Wonderful Options and active members of Women of Fearrington, you are part of a successful, far-reaching coalition of nonprofits plugging holes in Chatham County’s social safety net.

This year, Amanda – not her real name – is bouncing back from her status as an unhoused single mother. Help came from numerous groups, including WoF grant recipients Second Bloom of Chatham, Salvation

Army, and, in this instance, Love Chatham, which provides transitional housing in its new “Our House.”

After months of couch surfing and sleeping in her car, Amanda was desperate to gain stability for herself and her child. Navigating human service assistance was challenging and she found herself falling deeper and deeper into depression. A call to Salvation Army connected her to Love Chatham, and she and her son became the first residents of Our House in Siler City.

With a roof overhead, Amanda was able to pursue support from multiple programs offered by collaborating nonprofits and other service providers led by United Way of Chatham County called the Chatham Housing Collective. She graduated from the Our House program and now lives in her own home in Siler City.

“I fought for everything,” Amanda said. “Nothing was easy. But I was persistent. I made sure I was doing what I needed to do to be stable.”

She’s not where she wants to be, but she’s getting there. And she is happy and hopeful.

“Our House helped me get my faith back,” she said. “Even though you feel like people have given up on you because of choices you made in life, Our House helped me look forward to my life, being happy, and able to provide for my kids as a single parent.”

Thank you to everyone who contributes to the WoF grant program, either indirectly by volunteering and purchasing tickets to WoF-sponsored events, or by donating directly to Wonderful Options.