How Can My Congregation Become A Host Congregation?  

Family Promise offers an opportunity for a truly unique congregational outreach.  Volunteers of all ages work together within their own congregations, among many in the community, to help bring about a real change for families who have lost their homes.

The Basics:

• The network consists of 10-13 hosting congregations which provide space for typically 3 or 4 families (5 maximum) and no more than 14 individuals, mostly children, to stay for a week at a time.
• During the day, families are at the Day Center, where staff works with them on a plan to move to self-sufficiency.
• There is transportation provided between the Day Center and the congregations.
• Volunteers are the heart of the program and range from people cooking meals or moving beds to those sleeping overnight or playing games with children.   A host congregation will host 3 or 4 weeks out of the year.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE DAYCENTER?

THE HOME BASE FOR FAMILIES IS THE FAMILY PROMISE DAY CENTER, where parents work with a case manager, children get picked up for school, and families have access to showers. Guests use the Day Center from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm to care for preschool children, shower, do laundry, and seek employment.

• Many guests are employed during the day and children go to school.
• The Family Promise Day Center provides guests with a mailing address, a home base from which to conduct their job and/or housing search, an a pick up and drop off location for all school age children.
• The Family Promise Manager and the Case Manager have offices at the Family Promise Day Center.  They will be available to assist the guests and to help them connect with support services and employment opportunities.
• A Family Promise van transports guests from the congregations to the Day Center.

Keys To Start:

• Good communication.  Talk about the program and make sure everyone understands the components. Answer questions and garner support before the vote is taken.
• Knowledge.  People want to help homeless children and their families, but there are many misconceptions and fears that people will have, spoken or unspoken.
  • Who?  This is a program for families with children.  Our primary concern is that we provide children and their families with stability and start them toward self-sufficiency.
  • Safety?  There is professional management and all families go through an intake process.  Families with active substance abuse problems, untreated mental illness or domestic violence are not accepted into the program.
  • Space?  Classrooms, meeting rooms or a large space divided off into discreet areas.  As a congregation hosts only 4-5 times/year, rearranging church activities happens infrequently.
  • Insurance?  This is outreach involving families, and no different than other programs run at your congregation.  This is a hospitality program, not a shelter.
  • Money?  You are responsible for all meals, linens (not beds), and a few personal items.  Volunteers usually provide these items but if not, budget approximately $200 per host week.

Frequently Asked Questions About Family Promise and Hosting:
What facilities do host congregations need to have for guests?     Facilities must include a common area, a kitchen, bathrooms, and sleeping accommodations. Ideally, congregations provide a separate room, such as a classroom, for each family. If that isn’t possible, a fellowship hall or other large room can be divided by partitions to provide the privacy.  In some circumstances multipurpose sanctuaries are used by moving the chairs and adding dividers.


Our building is in use almost all the time. How will we find the space?    Congregations are busy places with many demands on their space. Rarely does a perfect space exist. Hosting almost always means making some scheduling adjustments for activities and meetings. For example, four or five times a year, AA or the Bible Study Group may need to move their Tuesday night meeting to another room.


Can families’ belongings be moved in the morning and moved back in the evening to permit the congregation to use the space during the day?
No. The sleeping accommodations need to be dedicated to the families for the entire host week. The beds and the guests’ belongings must not be moved in the morning and put back in the evening. Besides being cumbersome, moving the beds and the guests’ belongings would be difficult for guests. When guests arrive on Sunday, they come with their belongings and perhaps a few of their children’s favorite toys. They want to arrange their space as if it were their home.


How long do families stay in the program?  
  The Guest Guidelines call for a maximum stay of 30 days. However, program directors often extend the stay as long as families are making good-faith efforts to find housing. In some communities, families can find housing within 30 days. In other communities—where there is a severe shortage of affordable housing and waiting lists for public housing and Section 8 are closed—finding a home can take 60 days or more.


How are families referred to the program?    

When a homeless family seeks shelter through an agency, they are referred to the program director, who conducts interviews with the family and places them on a waiting list if immediate openings are not available.


Isn’t it difficult for families to move week to week?  
 Moving every week isn’t ideal, but most families say that the homelike setting and the support of volunteers more than compensate for the moving. While host congregations change every week or two, the Day Center remains the same, providing continuity and a home base for families as they look for housing and jobs. The Day Center also provides a permanent address that families can use in their housing and job searches.


Will the children miss school because their families are staying in different congregations every week or two? 
No. The director works with the school system to ensure that all children attend school. The Day Center is the permanent address of the Family Promise program. Children go to the school they have been attending or to the school nearest the Day Center. Arrangements are made locally with the school system.
In 1987, Congress passed the McKinney Act, (also referred as “Whatever is in the Best Interest of the Child”) legislation that requires all states and school districts to provide for the education of homeless youth. Each state has developed a plan to implement the Act. Most of the state plans are flexible and allow children to attend the school they last attended or the school closest to the Day Center.


What are the insurance implications of participating in the Network? Does the congregation have to amend its policy?
Each local program must carry general liability insurance. Congregations are usually covered by their own property and liability policies because Family Promise is considered to be an outreach ministry, a regular activity of the congregation like a youth sleepover or Friday night supper. Most congregations find they do not need extra insurance to be hosts. To be certain, each congregation must contact its insurance agent.

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