Emergency Shelter
Our hybrid shelter program and warm hospitality is the foundation of the Family Promise model.
Across this country, communities offer hospitality to families through Family Promise Affiliates. The innovative model — using a combination of static sites and existing space like congregations and volunteers motivated by compassion —has helped hundreds of thousands of children and adults in our national network of 200+ Affiliates. Working with community resources, Family Promise Affiliates provide comprehensive and targeted services, including extensive case management, at 1/3 the cost of traditional shelter. Furthermore, Family Promise Affiliates serve families of all compositions, often providing their only shelter option in a community.
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And it works.
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On average, 83% of the people served in the shelter program secure housing within nine weeks. Because of the depth of services and community support, families stay housed, and we provide both prevention and stabilization services to increase their impact.
HOW IT WORKS
The resources are already here. In Butler County, there are congregations that provide space in their buildings to serve as temporary homes. The Day Center is also equipped to house families during the weeks when no congregation or outside organization is available. In either case, the Day Center is a place where families can take showers, receive case management, and look for housing and jobs. It is located in Hamilton. Our 15 passenger van provides transportation to get families where they need to go. With volunteers giving their time, making meals, and sharing hospitality, family homelessness is addressed without the creation of expensive shelters. Here in Butler County, people have realized that this innovative approach truly makes a difference for families experiencing homelessness—and for more than the 400 volunteers.
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These volunteers are the core of the program. They share food, spend the night, play with children and lend their passion and expertise to help families get back on their feet. 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.
A COMMUNITY RESPONSE
In every community, these core elements exist. By bringing the community together on the issue of family homelessness, Family Promise of Butler County 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 of Butler County focuses on many community initiatives—housing programs, homelessness prevention, childcare and much more—that target the issues of poverty and homelessness.
A LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Not only does our 83% 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.