Brewing up Success

Community Action Commission

Christine Weaver

Christine Weaver and her husband Christopher were devastated after he lost his job at FCI Electronics in 2002. The job paid well and allowed the family to raise their six children. With no job and nowhere to turn, Christine and her family found themselves unemployed and suddenly homeless.

Christine and her husband entered the Community Action Commission's (CAC) offices in August 2006. The couple had started to piece their lives back together with Christopher working at Fed Ex and Christine working part-time at the Bucks County Coffee Company. Their combined income they were enabled them to rent a home, however a dispute over rent found the family facing eviction.  

CAC intervened to keep the family from returning to the streets. A CAC case worker wrote a letter to the local Magistrate District Judge explaining the family's enrollment in the Family Self-Sufficiency program. The letter demonstrated Christine's strong will to provide shelter and an education for her children. The judge was convinced and the landlord dropped the summons of eviction, saving the family from losing their home.

In order to ensure that her family would not have to face eviction again, Christine began working with the Community Action Commission to develop a budget and a schedule to pay household bills on time. The family was also referred to the Rental Assistance Program where they obtained the proper information needed to stay in their home.  

Working through the Family Self-Sufficiency program helped Christine realize how much money the family was really spending in a month. By taking time to plan and look over their bills allowed the family to set in place a plan to help the family stay in their home while planning for their future. Christine also realized the family needed more income to balance out family expenses. To help supplement their income and catch up on past bills, the couple started delivering pizzas during the winter.

Community Action Commission mobilizes the resources necessary to move low-income residents of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties into self-sufficiency.