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Article published Jun 11, 2009 Family Promise of Blount County program continues to serve homeless
By Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
Volunteers remain dedicated to the new Family Promise of Blount County program, now in its sixth week of operation, that allows local churches to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis,
Executive Director Mandy Stinnett Adkins said the program is currently hosting one family at Carpenter's Campground United Methodist Church, which is being supported by Peck's Memorial United Methodist Church.
"The program is going well," Adkins said. "Our volunteers continue to be the backbone of the organization, and we are so thankful for the countless hours they have given serving families in need in Blount County. We receive on average five calls per week from people in our community who are experiencing a housing crisis. We still have spots for three families. If you or someone who know is experiencing hopelessness and has a child, please call 233-4737. We are still in need of two host churches and three support churches."
Green Meadow United Methodist Church serves as the day center for the program, giving families a place to stay during the day while they look for housing and work. The day center provides a stable telephone number, mailing address and a base of operations for participants.
The program is expected to house more families in the fall, Board President Susan Hughes said. "You don't typically have as many homeless families in the summertime because they would rather find their own place to stay since it's warm. We do expect an increase as the evenings get cooler. We've had several families referred. Most have found alternative housing."
Hughes is one of the group of volunteers who started work on establishing the program in October 2007.
"We've had our learning curves, of course, as a new organization," Hughes said. "You learn where your strengths are and go from there."
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-Maryville, First United Methodist Church of Maryville, Forest Hill Baptist Church, Friendsville First Baptist Church, Monte Vista Baptist Church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church and Sycamore Tree United Methodist Church.
There are several support churches, whose members have agreed to provide volunteers and other support to the program, as well: Alcoa First United Methodist Church, Bethel Baptist Church, Broadway United Methodist Church, Embassy Christian Center, Friendsville 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's 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.