High school senior Anabel felt the impact of COVID more than most students. Medical care for her ill father induced Anabel’s family to move to Vancouver, WA, where they quickly discovered the city’s lack of affordable housing. While the family struggled with homelessness, schools went remote, so Anabel started her …
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Every other month, a group of retired teachers in Union County, NJ, meets for lunch. They may spend time reminiscing about their school days, but lately the conversation tends to be about homelessness. That’s because Patricia Novy, a former art teacher is leading the group in efforts to support families …
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Dana and her children have known homelessness in many shapes. When they found themselves homeless in the midst of a global health pandemic, the family slept in parks, in friends’ backyards, even in abandoned houses. At one point, they lived in a hotel far from Dana’s job that required an …
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This year, Romona and her children will have their very first Christmas tree and will create new holiday traditions. That’s because for the first time ever, they’re living in their own home. Until this year, the family lived in less-than-ideal situations. Their last residence had unreliable plumbing and a broken …
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Much has been written about the slow rollout of the $46.5 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance funding allocated by Congress to support tenants and landlords. The Treasury Department recently reported that states and localities have distributed just 11% of the existing funds. Pressure to speed up the rollout increased when the Supreme Court ended the …
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Nothing sounds as positive as the word “yes.” Unless you’re talking to families at Fort Bend Family Promise in Missouri City, TX, where “YEP!” is an even more affirmative word. The Affiliate’s Youth Empowerment Planning program, better known as YEP!, strives to minimize the impact of homelessness on kids.  “YEP! is the base of our overall program,” explains Etta Vincent, the Affiliate’s associate director. …
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Most employees at Family Promise of the Palouse in Moscow, ID, sit at a desk. But one staff member, Kevin, requires a bed. Kevin is full of compassion for families in crisis and loves his job, but inevitably he likes to lie down and get some shut-eye. It’s all in a day’s …
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Eight years ago, passionate young volunteers formed the Family Promise Club of Summit High School in Summit, NJ. Although in the middle of a pandemic, Josh Sacks, President of the Family Promise Club at the Summit High School, was determined to keep the mission invigorated. He brought in over 100 …
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Many people managing their own company and parenting two children under ten require a lot of coffee. Diane Mbombo Tite has done all of this during a global pandemic while only drinking tea. “Coffee makes me jittery,” she says. Mbombo’s newly launched company, Akula Interpreting and Translation, LLC, is the …
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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, countless families have lost income, but the eviction moratorium has helped many remain in their homes even if they can’t make their rent payments. What the national order hasn’t protected families from, however, is unscrupulous property management. Brylee Gnant, a case manager at …
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TJ never anticipated the chain reaction his health issues would trigger. When he was suddenly hospitalized for an extended period, his family fell behind on rent and their landlord initiated eviction proceedings. Suddenly, the prospect of homelessness became a constant conversation as they worried about the future. Fortunately, they were …
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Dreshawn hasn’t always wanted to share his story. A traumatic period during his teenage years was enough to convince him to keep history in the past. But now in his early 20s, he recognizes that sharing his story instills hope and compassion in others. When Dreshawn was 17, his family …
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