Be seen. Be heard.

A HAND UP
Mcea helps area residents
BY JAKE BUCKLER
To see Nicole Hall today, it might be difficult to imagine how
much the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance has
helped this 38-year-old New Caney resident.
Resource and Development
Manager,Margie Taylor
Today, Nicole Hall has a successful accounting career and a
nice apartment for her and her two children; but five years ago, she
thought she’d never enjoy such successes. “I was in a marriage
that was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive,” said Nicole,
“and I didn’t believe I had any options. The only job experience
I had was working for his company and I didn’t want to ask my
family for the financial help I’d need to get my kids and I out of that
situation. It seemed like there was no way out and I didn’t know
what to do.”
After years of abuse, Nicole says she finally mustered the
courage to escape the relationship, but her actions weren’t without
their consequences. Having no job, money or residence, she and
her children soon found themselves living at a women’s shelter.
By making the most of the MCEA’s parenting and budgeting
classes, as well as the advice and listening ear that members of
the organization offered her, she was eventually turned her life
circumstances around and secured an accounting job, and the
organization also helped her find an apartment that she and her
children still live in today.
“I don’t know where we would be today if it wasn’t for the
MCEA,” Nicole said. “They welcomed us with open arms, and
everyone there took the time to help me get back on my feet. I’ll
forever be thankful to the MCEA and I plan to volunteer more of
my time to them as my way of giving back. I would also encourage
everyone in the community to help this organization in any way
they can so they can continue to help people get back on their feet.”
From the time the MCEA took in Nicole and her children to the
day she was able to stand on her own two feet was a six-month
process. This kind of sustained help toward self-sufficiency is what
the organization is all about, says Margie Taylor, the organization’s
Resource and Development Manager. “In many cases, helping
people turn their lives around means providing assistance with
everything from rent or mortgage payments to food, clothing and
even job skills,” said Margie. “None of this is possible from just a
one-time handout; it takes long-term assistance. This is our goal for
the future and we need the support of our entire community to help
make it happen.”
While the MCEA does help women like Nicole Hall put the
pieces of their lives back together, single mothers aren’t the
organization’s only clientele. The MCEA also offers assistance to
the county’s elderly population living on fixed incomes, as well as
families who’ve recently found themselves out of work and living
below the poverty line. “Someone who’s used to earning six figures
but suddenly find themselves with nothing tend to be unaware
of the services available to them,” Margie explained. “We’re also
reaching out to help this demographic because we understand that
a crisis can occur unexpectedly to any of us.”
Margie joined the MCEA in February, and this summer, she
organized the organization’s biggest and most successful event to
date – the July 4th Duck Race at the Rob Fleming Aquatic Center.
About 5,000 rubber ducks surged down the park’s waterslide
in a tidal wave of yellow before splashing into the pool, headed
for the finish line. Each one represented a donation made to the
MCEA. “Thanks to the generosity of the businesspeople and
other community members, we raised $45,000 at that event!” she
exclaimed. “It will go a long way to helping continue our many
programs.”
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