Family Promise back in business
Family Promise in Washington County has reopened its doors, 23 months after it closed because it did not have enough churches to host homeless families.
Laura Vincenti, Family Promise of Southwestern Pennsylvania executive director, said the program reopened Oct. 18, and the center at 297 E. Beau St., Washington, where homeless families spend the day before church volunteers pick up the families and drive them to the hosting church for the night, is filled to capacity.
Family Promise is serving three families at the shelter, including 10 children ranging in age from 2 months to 17 years.
During the day, families are at the day center, where the Family Promise professional staff works intensively with adults to find housing and employment while children attend school.
Volunteers from the host churches cook meals and spend the night with the homeless families, who are returned to the Beau Street day center each morning.
“We put the program on hiatus because Family Promise is a network of church congregations, but we didn’t have enough church partners to sustain the program,” Vincenti said. “We’re not entirely where we want to be yet, but we’re hopeful we can nail this down by next year, and we’re leaping out in faith.”
Next summer, Family Promise will evaluate if the Washington program has enough host church partners and guest families to continue.
Family Promise also operates a day center in Crafton.
Vincenti said family homelessness is a major social issue – more than 40 percent of the homeless population is made up of families – and that Family Promise provides an opportunity for the community to “come to the table to help families who are in crisis.”
“It’s staggering how widespread and how nearby family homelessness is,” Vincenti said.
“That’s what Family Promise is all about – we’re providing an opportunity for lots of people to pitch in to address this.”
Host churches in Washington County include St. Benedict the Abbot Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, Church of the Covenant, Chartiers Hill United Presbyterian Church, Thomas Presbyterian Church, the Bentworth Ministerium (which includes Christian Assembly of God, First United Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church and Cokeburg Presbyterian Church), St. Patrick Catholic Church and Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church.
Volunteer churches include Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Center Presbyterian Church, St. David’s Episcopal Church and Avery United Methodist Church.
Church of the Covenant has provided the space for the Washington program during the day since it started 20 years ago.
Vincenti said Family Promise continues to look for churches to host guests so that the program doesn’t overburden its church partners.
Family Promise is a national organization with more than 180 affiliates across the country. It includes more than 6,000 churches and more than 135,000 volunteers who work to help families experiencing homelessness to regain housing, independence and dignity.
Last year, Family Promise of Southwestern Pennsylvania served 30 families, and more than 80 percent of those families transitioned to safe, affordable housing. So far this year, Family Promise has served 14 families with a success rate of nearly 70 percent.
Vincenti asked Washington County residents to consider donating online to Family Promise on Tuesday, Dec. 8, through the Pittsburgh Foundation’s “Critical Alert – Homelessness” campaign, a special campaign to support programs providing emergency shelter and other services to homeless families and individuals.
Starting at 8 a.m., all gifts of $25 or more will be matched dollar-for-dollar, until the $500,000 match pool is expended. Visit www.pittsburghgives.org and select Family Promise of Southwestern PA.
Last year, the match money was expended by about 2 p.m., so Vincenti encouraged donors to make their contributions early.