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Volunteers are still hoping to get a Family Promise program up and running in Blount County by Aug. 1.

The program would allow local churches to network together to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis.

But first, volunteers have to find a location to serve as a day center to provide a stable telephone number, mailing address and a base of operations for participants.

"You've got to have a day center first," volunteer Robert Sliker said. "If we don't have it by mid-to-late July then we'll obviously have to push (the opening date) back."

The churches that have agreed to participate so far are Monte Vista Baptist Church, Fairview United Methodist Church, Maryville First United Methodist Church, Sycamore Tree United Methodist, Maryville First Baptist Church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and St. John's United Methodist Church.

The volunteers are working hard to get the program running.

"We still in need of another five to six host churches," Sliker said. "Those would be the congregations that host the families for a week, once a quarter, from Sunday to Sunday. "On the day center we are still looking for an available location. We have one now that we're looking at but ... the structure is older and in need of repair. It's one of the options we're looking at."

There will be a fundraiser for Family Promise at Jump Zone, 713 William Blount Drive in Maryville, from 1 to 5 p.m. on July 12.

Meanwhile, Family Promise has filled eight of its 11 permanent board of directors slots. The board will have its first official meeting in July.

The next informational meeting about the program will be held at 7 p.m. on July 21 at Sycamore Tree United Methodist Church, 1830 Clydesdale St., Maryville.

The effort began last Oct. 1 with an informational meeting that drew representatives from 16 area churches.

It would take about $100,000 and about a year to set up the Family Promise program in Blount County. 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.