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‘It doesn’t have to be a wish’: Nonprofit helps father once homeless find house

CHARLOTTE — Christopher Chambers and his 4-year-old daughter have a new, fully furnished home after years of homelessness and living in tents.

“A lot of nights I was hungry,” Chambers told Channel 9. “Cold, cried a lot. I was just wishing one day that would be like this.”

[WSOC Special Section: Affordable Housing Crisis]

Chambers is the 16th person in the Charlotte region to get help from organizations including Catholic charities and the nonprofit Social Serve. The mission is to help people find housing and a second chance.

“It is difficult,” said Harry Mack, director of housing at Social Serve. “A lot of times, there’s a stigma with a person who may have been homeless, at one point, or in a tent or in a shelter and on the street.”

Mack said some people often don’t have good credit or enough to pay rent, along with other bills that go with it.

Chambers has found work and recently got full custody of his daughter.

[ALSO READ: Mecklenburg County grant helps homeowners get relief]

“The judge had confidence in me that I can take care of her,” Chambers said. “That’s why the judge granted me, and I appreciated that. But it strengthens me. The whole experience has.”

Chambers will also get rental assistance for the next year through Social Serve.

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“If you have it in your heart and you believe in something that motivates you -- my daughter motivates me -- she’s making me better as a father, as a man,” Chambers said. “But it doesn’t have to be a wish. Dreams that you dream, they can come true.”

(Watch the video below: Charlotte announces $250M investment in education, housing, jobs in step toward racial equity)