Up and Out Story- Larry

Larry is a humble, religious, and thankful man. He makes you remember what you have to be grateful for when you are around him. Larry moved to Charleston four years ago from Florence, SC. He comes from a family of 10 brothers and sisters and has two sons, ages 8 and 14, who live with their mother in Florence. Larry moved to Charleston to start a better life for himself and hopefully make enough money to support his two sons.

Larry lived in a boarding house in North Charleston when he decided to leave after his belongings were stolen. He stayed briefly at Crisis Ministries from December 2006 through January 2007. He was working part time at a local newspaper when his case manager, Kazia Lovendoski, was able to move him into a transitional apartment on Meeting Street.  

Unfortunately, soon after he moved into his new home his hours at the newspaper got cut. Yvonne Tucker, a social worker with the Housing Authority, asked Cathy Godshall, our Employment Specialist, if she could help Larry find a new job. Ms. Godshall helped  Larry get a position at the Hampton Inn at Patriots Point as a Houseman. Larry has been working there ever since.

“I get my hands into a little bit of everything over there. I really like it,” Larry says about his job. He takes the bus from his apartment on Meeting Street across the bridge to Patriots Point.  Sometimes, on Sundays, he walks over the bridge to and from work for exercise.

In June, Larry received the Employee of the Month award. He also won a two night stay to the Hilton in Orlando, Florida. He is looking forward to taking this vacation with his children around the holidays.

Larry is very grateful for Crisis Ministries and its staff. “I’m very thankful to have worked with Cathy. She is very good at what she does, she’s good at keeping her clients updated with new available jobs.  It makes me very happy to see how proud she is of me.”

Larry says he prayed for a better life and always prays for others less fortunate. Larry often stops by the shelter to keep the staff informed about how well he is doing.  Thanks to Crisis Ministries, Larry has a brighter outlook on life and hope for the future.

Amy Zeigler takes on grants

Amy Zeigler started working at Crisis Ministries last September as an employment liaison for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. As an employment liaison, Amy helped veterans find and maintain employment once they were ready to re-enter the work force. 

In addition to working as an employment liaison Amy has been working in the Administrative Grants office part time. Amy has completed several grants and has raised $122,500. Some of the grants we have received through Amy’s diligence are the SC Bar Foundation, the Joanna Foundation, John Wieland’s Second Mile Program, the Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, the Bosch Fair Share Fund and the Realtors Housing Opportunity Fund (RHOF).

Due to her success with grants and the need to seek more funding for our organization, Amy will be working full time as our grant writer (official title). She will still assist with the Homeless Veterans Program by helping with collecting data for the Department of Labor’s grant requirements.

Amy has expressed a lot of enthusiasm about her new position. “I’m looking forward to this new challenge.  While I’ll miss working directly with our clients and social work team, I look forward to seeking new funding sources as well as maintaining the grants we currently receive so that our outstanding staff can continue to provide services to those in need,” Amy said.