Community Initiatives
Family Promise understands the needs of vulnerable families. So, we offer innovative programs — such as tenancy preparation, financial literacy, and virtual career pathway training — to address those needs in a cost-effective, targeted approach.
HOUSING. TRANSPORTATION. EDUCATION.
All of these issues — and many others — are part of the myriad causes of family homelessness. As volunteers engage in the Family Promise program, they realize that if they can address these challenges, they can serve more people more effectively.
Community Initiatives include a wide array of programs. Some get to the heart of core needs (such as parenting and job training) families face in order to regain self-sufficiency. Other initiatives, like financial literacy, find ways to match the strengths of local volunteers and the interests of local corporations with the needs of our guests. Similarly, many initiatives build off core tenets of the Family Promise Program itself, leading to efforts like food assistance, furniture and clothing donation, as well as health and wellness programs.
Probably no community initiative is more vital or more involved than our many housing programs: shelter, transitional and supportive housing programs. On a typical night, we provide 155 beds for our neighbors with housing instability.
Key to these programs is the other most widespread initiative: post-shelter extended support. The underlying causes of homelessness are not alleviated simply by providing housing - as crucial as that is. The immense variety of services provided, from family mentoring to case management, ensures that families do not slip back into homelessness, so that the changes Family Promise has made are enduring.
The key is that we've found that the solutions exist right in the community. Congregations convert an old rectory to transitional housing. Affiliates partner with civic groups to create childcare. Volunteers supply families with good quality vehicles — which is often the one element they may need to avoid homelessness.
Since 2012, we have matched the needs of families in the Mid-Willamette Valley with local resources. Our initiatives are a testament to the compassion — and the innovation — of Family Promise volunteers.