Need in Montgomery County doesn’t show up on street corners, with a person holding a cardboard sign, nor does it always show up on local chatter groups. It’s often a quiet pleading from someone trying their best to be self-sufficient, but they’ve run out of resources or time.
That’s why First Door, an extension of United Way in Montgomery County, exists.
The first time First Door worked with a MoCo family, the solution sounded doable: a mom with four young children was seeking a place to live—fast. The urgent request came because of an expiring HUD lease, a landlord who refused to sign the paperwork needed for assistance, no low‑income units big enough for a family of six, and a patchwork of relatives and church folk trying to keep everyone safe.
No one could abracadabra the right-sized house and conjure the funding for their present need, but First Door could sit down with the family, sort through what help they qualified for, make calls, translate forms, and walk with them as they scrambled to stay housed.
First Door is a community navigation hub designed to be the first place people go when life presents insurmountable problems.
Let’s say you’re working full-time, raising kids or caregiving for someone, and you tapped out for time or resources to solve your challenges. First Door knows which agencies, churches and programs to seek for food, housing, transportation and mental health.
First Door Director Sherry Lacy meets clients wherever they are—at the bank office, in their homes, at McDonald’s, even in neighboring towns like Waynetown. She wants to understand what’s behind appeals like “I can’t pay my rent” or “my electricity is about to be shut off.”
First Door started as a three‑month pilot in 2024 and has quickly become a standing service, with a regular monthly walk‑in night and full‑time weekday access.
Residents reach First Door by calling, texting, or using a QR‑code form on its Facebook page that triggers a response within about 24 hours. They complete a short intake so Lacy can see what they’ve already tried and what gaps remain, and then they meet by phone or in person to map out next steps.
On the third Monday of each month from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., multiple partners—mental health providers, budgeting coaches, interpreters, and volunteers—gather with food bags from the FISH pantry ready for anyone who walks through the door. Outside that window, First Door functions as a one‑stop source of help.
Since its founding First Door has helped stabilize more than 170 families, some just once and others over many months. No win is too small. They’ve helped a woman who needed glasses to work safely, a mom who secured workers’ compensation and then found a better job, a woman who had lost significant weight and needed housing, clothes, a job, and a bike for transportation.
The success stories come from clients, like the woman who texted that it had been “a long time” since she felt this good and that First Door “really saved” her, then asked how she could help First Door reach its goals in the new year. Another client described how quitting a stressful job and being supported in choosing a healthier arrangement for her children left her mentally and emotionally stronger, crediting First Door for listening to and encouraging her when she felt lost.
First Door’s success comes from community and stakeholder partnership and client commitment.
Lacy will fill out job applications, submit forms online and line up temp agencies. About two‑thirds of clients stay engaged and make progress; roughly one‑third struggle to follow through, even when resources are in place. Even then Lacy leaves the file open for a time, follows up and reopens it if the client returns. She knows that humans fail, then get up again. First Door doesn’t cut them off and doesn’t force a rescue.
First Door’s ethic is to “walk alongside” people. That can mean sitting with a dad who is homeless, living out of a hotel with his daughter. It means connecting him to Lafayette transitional housing that can cover three to six months of rent and utilities while he gets stable, even though the process takes months. It means sitting with him in his precarious situation in the meantime.
It also means offering a listening ear to moms who feel like they’re failing (let’s be honest, that’s most moms), reassuring them they’re not bad parents because they need help, and sometimes simply handing over a gas card to get them through to payday.
First Door does have limits. It does not write checks for rent, utilities or water bills and does not operate its own shelter. It works through limited grants for very specific, short‑term needs, such as one night in a hotel during a crisis, while focusing most energy on long‑term stability rather than emergency payouts.
Lacy spoke of the community’s structural limits at the March 6th Lunch with the League: there is no local homeless shelter, little truly affordable housing and tight rules around programs like township trustee aid and HUD that can shut families out even when they technically qualify. In those gaps, First Door offers information, advocacy and coordination.
First Door’s real power lies in knowing who can help with what. It refers clients to:
● Township trustees for temporary rent and utility assistance, within statutory limits and eligibility rules.
● HUD and Lafayette transitional housing for longer‑term housing support, including several months of rent and utilities while families rebuild.
● Local food pantries such as FISH and other appointment‑based pantries for ongoing food security.
● Mental health and substance‑use providers, grief counselors, and the Free Clinic for those without insurance.
● Temp agencies and programs for jobs and job training, as well as budgeting help from partners like Hoosier Heartland Bank.
First Door also collaborates with the police and fire departments, the county’s quick response team, churches and agencies across the county, so when someone shows up at a church office, a fire station, or in a squad car lobby asking for help, there is one coordinated front door to the community’s resources.