The Crisis Assistance Ministry of Union and Anson County helps families around Monroe, North Carolina stay in their homes. When a lost job or a medical bill puts rent out of reach, the ministry steps in with emergency assistance for rent and utilities, along with case management and referrals, with a particular focus on mothers, children, and seniors.
Demand rarely slows down. Hundreds of requests come in every week across the two counties, and a small team handles all of them: case manager Kristi Rothman and one colleague, working the queue day to day. In a typical year, the ministry assists about 300 families.
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Until recently, that work ran on paper and OneDrive folders. Client information was tracked by hand, and finding a past file meant digging through documents. In January 2026, the ministry went live on Sumac Case Management.
Intake
Requests start on the ministry’s website. “Families seeking assistance can begin the process by completing a screening form on Crisis Assistance Ministry’s website,” said Rothman. “Once submitted, the information syncs directly with Sumac, creating a client record and notifying our team by email. This gives staff the information they need to begin reviewing the request without having to enter the same information manually.”
Casework
From there, each household’s story stays in one place: what they applied for, what assistance went out, and when. Families sometimes return after a year or two, and when they do, the history is already on file instead of buried in a folder.
With hundreds of requests arriving weekly, the team’s time goes to returning calls and processing assistance rather than transcribing applications.
Support
Six months in, the team is still finding out what the system can do, and they haven’t had to figure it out alone. Rothman works regularly with Judith on Sumac’s support team, from day-to-day questions to bigger cleanups.
“Judith is always quick to respond and incredibly helpful when I have a question,” said Rothman. “If I need additional guidance, she’s willing to schedule a Zoom call and walk me through it. Having that level of support has made it much easier for us to learn the system and use it in a way that works well for our organization.”
Growth
This summer, with request volume climbing, the ministry moved up to Sumac’s next contact tier, doubling the room in their database so intake can keep flowing.
