This is our second year helping Family Promise to help homeless families get back on their feet and into stability with a secure job and safe home. Its one of our most popular out reach programs at Mountain Park Community Church in Ahwatukee. Our church members love our hosting weeks. They have dinner with the families and get to know them. Their children play with our Family Promised guest's children and the magic starts! When the Family Promise guests see their children being treated normally, laughing and having fun, they relax and their healing begins! Jobs follow and soon a safe home! We have had it on our heart all last year to begin collecting furniture and furnishings to help our Family Promise guests when they move into their homes. We were blessed with a donated warehouse space to store our donated furniture and home items in October. We have been able to help furnish 3 homes and are working on items for the next home! Family Promise not only helps homeless families get back on their feet and into the flow of a healthy life, but also touches our church members hearts and inspires them to step outside of their comfort zone and help others who are not as blessed as we are right now. Thank you Ted, Cheryl, Lish, Nicole and Family Promise staff! You are touching many hearts and changing many lives!! Mark Farley, Director of Care & Support Ministries, Mountain Park Community Church www.mountainpark.org mfarley@mountainpark.org
I spend a lot of time working with Family Promise at the strategic level, and I wouldn't do this if I didn't see wonderful results. The staff is dedicated and excellent, and truly works overtime to help client families succeed. The clients are selected for their willingness to work hard to find a job and a home for their children....and over 70% achieve sustainable housing within 60 days of joining the program. That is an amazing statistic for a homeless program.
I've been working with Family Promise for over 6 years, and I find this work to be very, very rewarding.
I have participated in Family Promise through my church for over 10 years now. It is an important ministry to our congregation because it provides an easy way to live our faith: serve those in need in God's house. Four times a year for a week, we host the families at our church overnight, provide them a home-cooked dinner and love and compassion. Because the program serves the families at our church, everyone can participate: families with young and older children, seniors, singles, etc. At the end of every week, we find the families have had a greater impact on us than we have had on them, and it is humbling. The program really works. There is something magical about the Family Promise model, the families move quickly from homelessness to self-sufficiency.