Shelter
Our shelter program and warm hospitality is the foundation of our model.
WHY PROVIDE SHELTER?
Our goal is to provide the shortest amount of stay possible and quickly connect individuals and families to housing.
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For those with literally nowhere else to go, Family Promise can provide a safe, trauma-informed, and low-barrier temporary solution while they are supported in finding a longer-term housing solution.
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We mitigate trauma of unsheltered homelessness: negative health outcomes, criminalization of homelessness, and toxic stress impact.
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Our model works.
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Nationally, over 80% of guests and clients secure housing in less than nine weeks.
HOW IT WORKS
First, Rotating Emergency Shelters: The resources for emergency shelter are already here, in the community. We partner with congregations and organizations to provide space in their buildings, which serve as temporary homes from evenings to mornings. Our goal is to give every family unit private secure sleeping space, and shared communal living and dining areas.
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Second, Day Centers: From mornings to evenings, we provide a communal space where guests can shower, do laundry, receive case management, and look for housing and jobs. The Day Center can be located at a house of worship or other orgnaziation, or can be a stand alone facility.
Third, Transportation: There are multiple options for transportation to get families from the host shelters to the Day Center and back. Public transportation, ride share options, or volunteers can help guests move through their day.
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With volunteers giving their time making meals, driving, or just sharing hospitality, the struggle of homelessness is addressed without the purchase and maintenance of expensive shelters. Across the country, people have realized that this innovative approach truly makes a difference for those experiencing homelessness—and more than 200,000 volunteers.
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Volunteer organizations and individuals are the core of the program. They probide space, share food, spend the night, play with children and lend their passion and expertise to help those suffering homelessness get back on their feet. Motivated communities can solve emergency homelessness, and in the process, create “home” for those with no place left to turn.
A COMMUNITY RESPONSE
In every community, these core elements exist. By bringing the community together on the issue of family homelessness, Family Promise addresses a major social problem in a holistic, effective way. Once the community becomes engaged, people understand the root causes of family homelessness and take steps to address them. Family Promise Affiliates have created more than 1,700 community initiatives—housing programs, homelessness prevention, childcare and much more—that target the issues of poverty and homelessness on a local level.
A LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Not only does our 88% success rate mean many more families stably housed, it is also a tremendous cost saving to the community as diversion from far more expensive interventions. Our approach of keeping families together, identifying their strengths, and partnering with the community for solutions means that families are at much lower risk of returning to homelessness.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Family Promise changes lives. We served 126,000 parents and children last year, giving them the ability to realize their true potential. We also change the lives of our 200,000 volunteers, giving them a meaningful outreach right in their own communities.