Moieyon Smith was able to get back on her feet thanks to the Neediest Cases Fund. The single mom was unsure how to make ends meet, especially since her baby girl was still in the NICU. With a phone call and a little help, Smith was able to make sure that her daughter would come home to a safe and loving house.

The Neediest Cases Fund was started by the publisher of the New York times and the Chattanooga Times in 1914. Every year, the publications ask for donations from their readers, and the money is pooled together. The fund aims to help people in the community get back on their feet. Decades later, the resources available to help others has grown, and the United Way of Greater Chattanooga now manages the fund.

Smith’s daughter, Autumn, was born four months early, weighing at a pound and four ounces. She had to stay in the NICU for five months. On top of this, the baby girl also had Hirschsprung disease which affects her nerve cells and large intestine. To fix the issue, she had to get corrective surgery. With her daughter going through so much, Smith knew she had to be with her. Taking time off work from her job in the fast-food industry, however, was a tough decision.

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For a while, Smith was able to rely on her daughter’s disability check. This was able to cover the bills while she wasn’t working, but she started to have car troubles one day. Due to the overload of expenses, Smith began falling behind on rent. She decided to call 211, the national help hotline for people who need social services. She was connected with the Day and Overnight Shelters, and they determined that she could be helped with the Neediest Cases Fund.

With the help of the organization, Smith received the $345 she needed to cover the rent she couldn’t pay. At first, the single mom admits that she felt like a failure because she needed to ask for help. She quickly learned that this isn’t the case; sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is admit that you need help, and there are plenty of people out there willing to do so. With a little boost from kind strangers, Smith was able to remain by her baby’s side.