Ellen is a single mother with a two-year-old son. Her husband is abusive and she currently has a Criminal Domestic Violence case against him. Ellen, very bravely, has set a court date with him to pursue child support and alimony in order to help with childcare expenses. In the midst of this, Ellen also lost her transportation because she had car repairs she was unable to afford. Not wanting to quit her job, she paid for Uber and Lyft rides to and from work. However, she was not able to pay those costs long term and therefore lost her job.
Ellen came to Greer Relief needing help with rent and food. Greer Relief also found out that she is a United States veteran. We referred her to Operation Palmetto Employment, which is a division of the South Carolina Unemployment office that caters specifically to veterans. We also supplied her the number for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) so they can help her navigate the Veterans Benefit process.
Greer Relief helped with one month of her rent payment. The DAV helped with her current month as well as next month’s rent to give her time to find work. Greer Relief was also able to help her with Christmas items through our Christmas Morning Shoppe, food from our pantry, and gift cards to the gas station to help as she looks for work.