April Showers Bring More Than Just May Flowers

It Rained All at One Time by Susan Ryder

“It rained all at one time,” was what a caller told me on the phone, as she described how her family found themselves in very hard times. That quote really stuck with me. It now hangs on my bulletin board to remind me of how to answer when people ask how folks find themselves without a home.

These calls are not unusual. In a more recent call, a mom described a "rained all at once" scenario.

She was working with a delivery company to try to make $70-$100/day

To afford the hotel where they were staying

Because they lost their housing

Because her husband lost his job after he suffered a heart attack

And she stopped working to care for him and the children

Plus, she had just hit a deer

And they were almost out of money

...She was drowning. 

At Family Promise HCR, we provide families an umbrella for the rain, and sometimes a boat. We do this through a variety of programs and with the help of many partners. Our shelter and prevention programs help families to move from homelessness to home. We also have 4 UP programs:

1. Grow UP: gap coverage funding for childcare expenses

2. Heads UP: free counseling for families experiencing or on the brink of homelessness

3. Move UP: funding for one-time housing-related expenses, such as back rent or utilities

4. Wheels UP: funding for one-time transportation expenses, such as insurance or maintenance

These programs help divert families from the deluge of homelessness and offer help for those "rained all at one time" moments.

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Showered Blessings for Upcoming Fam Jam Event by Matt Wagner

Click here to watch a quick video from our director, Matt Wagner, sharing some updates about Fam Jam 2024! 

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Showering of Love and Support by Stacey Coldren

Our guests update us each week on how the host week has gone. Of course, there are ups and downs, but there are always wonderful comments in common.

"The volunteers treated us like family."

"They played with my kids like it was their grandchildren."

"I didn't feel bombarded with questions about my situation; they treated me like an equal. Sometimes, it's hard to repeat my story repeatedly."

"They have the BEST TOYS EVER."

"I was able to just be me."

It is no surprise to hear that when our families come into the shelter, they seek support and reassurance. That is precisely what the FPHCR volunteers do each week, from having a family dinner together each evening to playing with the kiddos and talking with the parents.

This might seem small, but the support and respect the FPHCR volunteers shower our families with each week is a blessing that will stay with them forever.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

― Robert Louis Stevenson

What is New at Family Promise?

A New Hope

One of the participants who was provided Wheels UP funding for a car has been building her credit for over a year, working hard and making better choices for herself and for her family. ZJ is working full-time and providing for her family in a way she couldn’t before!

ZJ even provided dinner for our FPHCR shelter families to give back!

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A New Start

This month, our Family Promise family had the bittersweet pleasure of helping one of our longest residing families move into a place they can call home. Ashley and her children, Tony and Chubbers, moved into a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment in the Brethren Housing Association’s transitional program and are so excited for this next phase of their lives!

Last week Ashley reached out to us to give an update and to tell us how much she missed everyone at Family Promise. She expressed her deep appreciation to the staff and volunteers at Family Promise HCR, saying, “Thank you guys for everything you have done for my family, idk [I don't know] where we would be without you guys! I am going to miss seeing every single one of you every day, and I am positive Chubbers will too! 🖤"

According to Ashley, “I was just used to having you guys around & felt like I had belonged somewhere for the first time in a while... It’s been a transition for us to be sure! But Tony is loving life with his own room…(and) My dog is coming tomorrow…”.

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A New Way to Volunteer

I’ve always felt that people genuinely want to help, but they don’t know exactly how, or they have a lot of time constraints that make it difficult.

That's why we started our support volunteer program, and the response has been over-whelming! We’ve had about 65 folks sign up to help with various Family Promise tasks. Here's how it works:

• About twice a month I send out an email about opportunities for volunteering. 

• If it’s something that someone can step in and take care of, they do!

• If it doesn't fit for right now, they can just ignore the email. (It's okay, I’m not offended! It's low pressure.)

People simply sign-up to do what they enjoy doing, when they are able to do it.

It’s been wonderful to see this list grow and to have the support of so many people to:

• Help our Day Center run smoothly, stay organized, and look good

• Provide meals for our families

• Transport families to and from host sites

If you are interested in joining our support volunteer team, just contact me at susan@familypromisehcr.org.

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A New Opportunity

Fam Jam will be on June 9th this year at The Englewood again. We'll have music and food and a silent auction and bubbles! It's a great event for individuals and families to enjoy. Get your tickets today! Click here.

More than just Shelter

"It was nice to just be normal..."

There's another circus (besides Family Promise) in town! Family Promise guests and staff were able to enjoy a night out on the town with a generous donation of Cirque Du Soleil tickets! A current participant said, "It was nice to just be normal for a night with 'friends' and family. We blended in with everyone else. No one knew we were in a program; we were just there to have fun."

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More than just Shelter

One chilly day in December, a woman came to our door, shaking and crying, desperately seeking help. She explained she had a PFA (protection from abuse) order against an abusive boyfriend, but he refused to respect the court order - stalking her, harassing her, even breaking into her apartment with weapons the night before.

She was terrified for herself and her children. “He says he can do whatever he wants, and the police aren’t going to stop him!” she said through tears.

Our discussion found that she had called the police a dozen times, but they weren’t interested in helping. Showing us the numerous calls to the police, she cried, “All they say is to ‘let us know if he hurts you and try to stay somewhere else,’ but where can I go?”

The staff at Family Promise was able to help her create a safety plan for herself and her children. We then connected her with the local DA’s Office and the Victim’s Witness program, who called a meeting with the Harrisburg police chief. With Victim’s Witness’ assistance, the police reviewed the PFA and the evidence of his threats and harassment, finally leading to her abuser being taken off the street and incarcerated for threats, harassment, stalking, and finally, violation of a PFA order.

She came back to us the next day, smiling and greatly relieved! “He is gone now. I don’t know how long for, but long enough for me and my kids to find a new place to live where he won’t know where to find us.” Through hugs and tears, she thanked us for being willing to help her when no one else could. “We have time now to find someplace safe. I thank God I was able to find you and you were willing - and able - to help.”

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1st Anniversaries

Family Promise served 25+ clients in 2023 at Brethren Housing Association's Job Club. We celebrated the 1-year anniversary on January 10th with the support of Road to Success case manager, Stacey Coldren. During these job club classes, clients work on confidence, mock interviews, resume building, and looking for jobs.

Steve and his kiddos celebrated one year in their home! This special family was able to hold birthday parties, holiday dinners, and make so many new memories together in their home. I can’t wait to see what is in store for this family down the road!

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Hope through Hospitality

“They treat us like family,” is how I heard a guest talking about the host sites, where Family Promise HCR families spend the overnight hours. In case you aren’t totally familiar with how FPHCR works, click here. 

We lost half, yes half, of our host partners during COVID. Thankfully, we have also picked up a few new sites. But we are still in great need of congregations that would like to partner with us and make an investment of time and building space, for folks who desperately need it. 

Family Promise HCR is not a religious organization. We are a social service organization that utilizes the network of resources that faith communities have created.  

Intrigued?  We’d be happy to talk with you personally or talk to your congregation about what we do and how they might partner with us.   

Congregations have an opportunity to treat people like family, many of whom haven’t felt that in a long time. Contact Susan Ryder at susan@familypromisehcr.org for more information about hosting.