Shelter
Providing families with a safe place to stay as a family unit.
No child should have to sleep on the street or in a car, and no parent should have to sleep with one eye open in fear for their child's safety. Providing a safe and comfortable living space where families can stay together is an essential part of the Family Promise mission.
[Through the Covid pandemic there have been big changes to our model of providing shelter for our guests. The longtime model had been shelter provided by our partner host congregations and home-cooked dinners from our partner support congregations. Unable to gather in group settings, and with generous support from our community, we placed our families in hotels, and more recently in "tiny homes". As our community health environment continues to change we will continue to adapt our guest housing and engagement with our congregations.]
Safe Haven
Each of our families has a safe, private space, currently either in a hotel, or in a tiny home, where parents can spend quality time with their kids. Since our hotel guests have no kitchen, our congregations have assisted with gift cards to help with the cost of meals. All adults, whether guest families or volunteers, undergo background checks, to ensure our families are in a safe environment.
With volunteers giving their time, making meals, and sharing hospitality, together with the generous financial support of our community, family homelessness is addressed without the creation of expensive shelters. Across the country, people have realized that this innovative approach truly makes a difference for families experiencing homelessness. More than 200,000 volunteers work with Family Promise affiliates nationwide.
These volunteers are the core of the program. Here in Sacramento they assist office staff by taking phone calls, answering questions, completing intake form with callers, providing referrals to other programs, and lending a compassionate ear. Other volunteers share food, tend gardens, and prepare lodging for new famlies. They prove that motivated people can solve family homelessness. And, in the process, they truly create “home” – and a community – for families who have no place left to turn.
