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Article published May 24, 2009 Help for homeless on way: Family Promise to open June 21
By Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
After more than 19 months of effort, the opening of Family Promise of Blount County is within sight.
A local group of volunteers has been working since October 2007 to establish a network, based on the national Family Promise program, that will allow local churches to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis.
"It is difficult to estimate how many individuals we will be serving when we open our doors on June 21st, but our hope is to have at least three families," Executive Director Mandy Stinnett Adkins said. "It may take a little while for us to reach capacity since our services are new in the community, but we do anticipate a waiting list for our program. We will begin accepting referrals for families without homes on June 8."Green Meadow United Methodist Church will give families a place to stay during the day while they look for housing and work. The location will serve as a day center to provide a stable telephone number, mailing address and a base of operations for participants.
Board President Susan Hughes is happy the program is almost ready to begin helping the community.
"I'm excited that the families that are being impacted by the economy will have a place to turn to if they lose their homes," Hughes said. "We'll do everything in our power to get them back out in the community and help them the best they can."
The churches that have agreed to participate in the Family Promise network so far are Beech Grove Baptist Church, Carpenter's Campground United Methodist Church, Fairview United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church of Maryville, Friendsville First Baptist Church, Maryville First United Methodist Church, Monte Vista Baptist Church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church and Sycamore Tree United Methodist Church.
"Our list of partner congregations is growing, and we still have spaces for local congregations to join our program," Stinnett said.
There are several support churches, whose members have agreed to provide volunteers and other support to the program, as well: Bethel Baptist Church, Broadway United Methodist Church, Embassy Christian Center, Friendsville First United Methodist Church, Highland Presbyterian Church, New Providence Presbyterian Church, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church. Peck's Memorial United Methodist Church and St. John United Methodist Church.
If 13 churches participated, each church would host from three to five families for a week each quarter. Budgets for each church would be between $200 and $250 each week.
The average stay for families in Family Promise programs nationwide is 52 days.
Ideally, the families are in the program for no more than three months. The families are required to seek employment and housing. Failure to work toward independence means termination from the program. Families are referred to Family Promise through the school systems, social services and various nonprofit organizations.
There is a shelter in Blount County that serves men and women separately, but there is no place that takes families as a whole. Family Promise would allow families to stay together.
To make a referral to Family Promise, community members can contact Family Promise at 233-4737.