What Working Families in Northern Kentucky Need Most Right Now

The Problem Nobody Budgets For
In conversations about poverty and economic self-sufficiency, we talk about housing, food security, childcare, job training, and healthcare access.
We almost never talk about transportation.
In Northern Kentucky, where public transit covers a fraction of where people live and work, and where the gap between a home in Boone County and a job in Kenton County can be an hour on foot or ten minutes in a car — reliable transportation is not a convenience. It is the hinge point of everything else.

When the Car Breaks Down, the Progress Does Too
Consider what a car breakdown costs a working family with no financial cushion:
• Missing shifts means lost wages — and potentially a lost job
• Missing job training means losing the slot and potentially starting over
• Missing medical appointments means conditions go unmanaged until they become emergencies
• Missing school pickup means relying on others in ways that create debt and obligation
Each of these cascades. A missed shift leads to a written warning. A written warning leads to termination. Termination means no childcare subsidy. No childcare means no job search. And so, it spirals.
Transportation insecurity is the thread that, when pulled, can unravel a great deal of hard-won stability.

What SCCC Has Seen
In 2025, Samaritan Car Care Clinic was able to help 389 families maintain and repair their vehicles. In that same year, we had to turn numerous other families away because we didn’t have the vehicles or the funding to serve them. Those are people who called us, were referred to us by a social service agency, were on a path toward self-sufficiency, and needed one thing — a working car — that we couldn’t provide. The gap between who we can help and who needs help is filled by donations and donors.

The Solution Is Hiding in Plain Sight
There are thousands of vehicles in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati that are underused, aging out of service, or sitting in driveways unused. Many of those vehicles have years of reliable use left in them — for the right family, in the right hands.
SCCC connects those vehicles to those families. We repair what needs repairing. We match based on need, verified through our network of 12+ social service partner agencies. And we stay local, so the impact stays visible.

Help Close the Gap
Donate a vehicle, volunteer your time, or make a financial contribution. Every dollar donated closes the gap between the families we can help and the families still waiting.
Visit samaritancarcare.org or call 859-525-6240.