Beyond the Numbers: What Our Clients Tell Us About the Impact of Your Support

Our annual impact data tells us how many households we serve and how much financial assistance we provide. But our client survey helps us understand what that assistance actually means in people's lives.

One of the most important findings comes from households who received emergency rental assistance.

Among survey respondents who received this assistance, 100% reported that they remained housed following assistance. Ninety-four percent were still living in the same home, and another 6% had moved into different but stable housing.

When asked whether BCCF's assistance helped them avoid eviction or displacement, two-thirds said it definitely did, and the remaining third said it helped somewhat.

These findings illustrate something fundamental about our work: timely financial assistance can make the difference between a household maintaining its housing and facing the enormous disruption of losing it.

We also asked clients what they believed would have happened without BCCF's help. Among respondents receiving move-in assistance, half said they would have lost the opportunity to secure housing. The other half said they would have had to borrow money or go into debt.

Think about what those outcomes can mean. Losing an opportunity to secure housing can leave someone without a stable place to live, disrupt their employment, and force a family to start over. Going into debt can compound an already difficult financial situation, making it harder to pay future rent, cover basic necessities, and build even a modest financial cushion.

Our assistance helps interrupt that cycle before it takes hold.

But there is another finding I consider equally important: the effect on mental well-being.

When we asked emergency rent recipients whether their stress levels had improved since receiving assistance, 72% reported a significant improvement and another 28% reported some improvement. Similarly, 89% said the assistance significantly improved their household's safety or well-being, while the remaining 11% reported some improvement.

These results reinforce what we see in our daily work. Financial insecurity is not simply a matter of balancing a household budget. It creates chronic stress and uncertainty. People worry about where they will live, how they will feed their children, whether they can afford medical care, and whether they will be able to keep going to work.

When those immediate threats are addressed, people can begin to think beyond the next bill or the next rent payment. They can focus on their children, their health, their jobs, and their longer-term goals.

The survey also reveals the importance of how assistance is delivered. Ninety percent of respondents described being able to connect quickly with a BCCF representative and receive guidance through the application process. Ninety percent also said staff were helpful and offered multiple ways to provide the necessary information.

And across our move-in assistance and other critical-needs survey responses, clients reported feeling cared for by their community, connecting with needed resources, and feeling seen and heard during a time of need.

That matters. A safety net is not only about financial resources. It is also about knowing that when a crisis occurs, there is someone who will listen, help navigate the options, and work with you toward a solution.

For a household experiencing a crisis, that combination of practical assistance and personal support can restore a sense of security, dignity, and hope.

These survey results represent the experiences of the clients who responded, rather than every household BCCF serves. Even so, they provide meaningful evidence that our model is doing more than helping people get through an immediate emergency. It is helping people maintain housing, avoid additional financial harm, and regain the stability they need to move forward.