Organizations help families get back on their feet
Among the Washington County organizations working toward the difficult goal of ending homelessness are two nonprofit shelters and a community center. Their efforts give hope to homeless families with children, which make up more than a third of the homeless population, and provide them with shelter, programs and resources to help them regain their independence.
Since it was founded in 1986, Avis Arbor has helped thousands of women in Washington County get back on their feet.
Avis Arbor is a residential facility and resource center in Washington that serves homeless women and children by providing free housing and support services.
For the women and children who take shelter there, Avis Arbor, which is operated by the City Mission, is a place of healing and transformation. Its purpose is to help women improve the quality of their lives, achieve greater self-sufficiency and transition to permanent homes off the streets.
Avis Arbor houses as many as 41 women and children at a time. In addition to free housing (emergency shelter is available for 90 days, but many women stay for six months to a year) and three meals a day, Avis Arbor offers counseling, job training, parenting classes and medical and mental health services.
But, like many shelters, Avis Arbor has been unable to meet the demand of the homeless, who can end up on the waiting list for several months.
In July alone, Avis Arbor turned away 69 women and 37 children.
As part of the City Mission’s planned $10 million construction and renovation project, Avis Arbor will be expanded and a new building constructed to accommodate 99 women, more than doubling its capacity.
“A lot of women don’t have anywhere to go, and they come here and get a good foundation and the services they need to help them make it on their own,” said Janetta (Nettie) Ledbetter, the house manager who 10 years ago was homeless and used Avis Arbor’s resources to turn her life around.
“This place is a blessing.”
Pinned on the bulletin board at LeMoyne Community Center are motivational quotes like “Success is not measured by what we achieve but by what we help others accomplish.”
Those are words to live by for Executive Director Joyce Ellis and her staff, who have dedicated themselves to helping the underserved, low-income children in Washington County to set and achieve high goals.
LeMoyne Center works to shape, define and stabilize the local community and its children through education, arts, health and recreation programs.
Among the hundreds who participate in the community center programs are homeless children, who, like all the other kids, get a healthy meal and an opportunity to learn life skills.
For Ellis, it’s important to promote education and the arts to homeless children.
“These kids have to believe that the sky’s the limit and that they can accomplish anything they want to if they work hard. We’re trying to level the playing field and give them the tools they need to succeed,” said Ellis, who gave up a successful dance career to devote herself to the community center.
One afternoon, while tending to the beautiful flowers she planted along the steps in front of the LeMoyne Center (named for Francis Julius LeMoyne, a 19th-century abolitionist whose house is Pennsylvania’s first National Historic Landmark of the Underground Railroad), Ellis encouraged a teen to continue taking free piano lessons offered at the center.
“When you get an opportunity to better yourself, you take it,” said Ellis. “I’m not saying you’re going to be a virtuoso, but do you know how many African-Americans have the opportunity to learn to play the piano?”
The LeMoyne Center offers several year-round programs, and runs a successful Homework and More program, where children receive help on homework assignments and access to education, sports and recreational programs.
“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13. The biblical verse depicts Family Promise’s mission statement.
Family Promise is a nonprofit organization in Southwestern Pennsylvania that connects families displaced from their homes with numerous networks of churches within their area and dedicated staff. The organization has two locations: 297 E. Beau St., Washington, and 7 Oregon Ave., Pittsburgh.
Family Promise has a different view of the growing problem of homelessness, as most homeless shelters serve only single men, single women or single women with children. The organization shelters the underserved segment of the homeless population: families.
According to Family Promise, more than 40 percent of the homeless population is made up of families, and one of every 50 American children experiences homelessness each year.
Family Promise shelters and networking congregations assist families with children regardless of their race or religion. Families can range from two-parent families, single father with children, single mother with children and families with teenagers.
All families who are eligible for Family Promise assistance receive shelter 24 hours a day, three daily meals, accommodations in private rooms at one of 40 local congregations that have joined the Family Promise team, necessities and wants such as phone, Internet, hot showers and laundry access.
If eligible, the family receives individual case management, assistance with overcoming barriers to regain housing and help with educational troubles.
Family Promise’s goal is to not only assist families while homeless, but when they leave after finding adequate housing.
If interested in becoming a volunteer or learning about guidelines for admission, email FamilyPromiseSWPA@comcast.net or visit www.homelessfamilies.org.