July 2026 Data
July was a busy month, and families all across Lincoln County worked hard to build thriving lives. Throughout the month, we had 95 calls in the office and over 100 to 211 for Lincoln County residents. According to NC 211 data, there were 135 calls in July 2025 and only 85 calls in July 2024. This increase of calls can possibly be explained by increased awareness regarding 211 or our office assistance programs.
In July, 51% of calls to 211 revolved around Housing & Shelter, with 36% focused on rental assistance. This was similarly represented in the calls to our office. Many of these families were struggling due to transportation or childcare issues. The next highest category of need was utility assistance, particularly with electric bills. These trends hold relatively strong with July 2025 and July 2024 also having 51% and 54% of calls being about housing or shelter needs.
Each month, our data depicts a clear indicator of need, but the data itself is not the whole story. In July 2026, United Way of Lincoln County was able to help 6 families through economic difficulties and financial crises. Three of those families struggled with medical costs. Two lost their employment due to lack of childcare availability. Each of their situations highlight the impact that life's unpredictable nature can have on ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed) families. Thankfully, we were able to provide assistance and help them find stability, like in Lola's story.
Lola's Story
Lola* found herself in a terrible position: her child had suddenly passed away. While dealing with her own grief, she also became the sole guardian for her two grandchildren. That meant the budget she had been living by no longer functioned. Her grandchildren had to be fed, clothed, and supported during their own sadness. After her rent had been paid, they only had about $200 to live off of for the rest of the month, and that just couldn't be sustainable.
Thankfully, she was able to get approved to move into affordable housing, which would drastically increase their leftover income and allow her to provide a safe, stable place for her grandchildren to grow up. Unfortunately, she didn't have the first month's deposit. When she reached out to UWLC, she told us her story. She explained her plan for her family and how this move would impact her and her grandchildren. Thankfully, in this case, we were able provide her financial assistance, and Lola and her grandchildren were able to move in before the new school year.
*Name has been changed to provide privacy.