Even though Carmen was working long hours as a certified nursing assistant, she was having trouble paying rent on the apartment she shared with her 2 daughters.
Michelle’s husband abruptly turned her family out of their home, but only after depleting the savings she had from her consignment shop.
These two mothers, and many others like them, found housing and assistance through Family Promise’s national partnership with Help Us Move In (HUMI).
This Year’s Recipients
Family Promise is proud to announce the selection of 10 Affiliates as grant recipients in a national partnership between Family Promise and HUMI, a Washington state-based nonprofit working with communities to fund and create programs helping families facing housing crises. The model is based on the shared beliefs of the two organizations that a combination of case management, opportunity, and community can empower the families we serve toward self-sufficiency. The mission of the partnership is simple: to ensure children are Homeless No More.
The 10 Affiliates, listed below, have been selected for the third cycle of grants through Help Us Move In. With the initial Affiliates who piloted the program finishing up their 2-year grant and the second cycle of grantees starting their second year, Family Promise has seen many successes. According to Crystal Karr, Family Services Manager at Family Promise of Colorado Springs, “HUMI funding has really made a difference in the way we serve and support families, as well as how we interact with the community.” Samantha Church, Executive Director of the Hawaii Affiliate shared, “Families come to us expecting shelter, but instead they keep their housing and find stability.” Other benefits of the program include increased visibility and awareness, the resources to build new relationships and joint services with other organizations in their communities, and, of course, the ability to move children and families into homes more efficiently.
Here’s how it works:
Each participating Affiliate receives a $20,000 Homeless No More Challenge Grant over two years ($5,000 per year from Family Promise and $5,000 from HUMI) to launch a program aimed at sustainable prevention and rehousing for families experiencing homelessness. The grants are not hand-outs: each Affiliate must raise an initial $10,000 before $10,000 grant is awarded. Further, the Affiliate is then expected to engage the community and match the funds with another $20,000 each year. This double challenge match is designed to reinforce a self-sustaining habit of contributions from the community going forward.
Twenty-two Family Promise Affiliates have received Help Us Move In funds since 2016, serving more than 1,000 families, including nearly 2,500 children. HUMI grants totaling $350,000 have surpassed local donations of nearly $1 million. Participant in the first cycle, Tara Pagliarini, Executive Director at Family Promise of Brevard, reflected on the success of their 2-year grant. “The HUMI match allowed us to reach out to a new pool of donors that were interested in having a direct impact on families. These donors then planted the seeds that will continue to support housing in our community now that the grant cycle has ended.”
Each selected Affiliate will establish a Working Group to manage the program within the community and will identify families to receive assistance and determine how much temporary assistance each family needs to successfully move into and support a stable home. The funds are restricted to rental assistance, housing arrears, and move-in expenses, including security deposits. The goal of the Challenge Funds is a 50/50 balance between preventing family evictions and assisting families with move-in costs.
“Because of our partnership with HUMI, hundreds more families across the country have had their homelessness prevented or were able to achieve housing more quickly,” said Family Promise CEO Claas Ehlers. “The HUMI program has generated nearly a million dollars in additional community giving and expect this to only grow exponentially. Partnerships like these help Affiliates address the full scope of homelessness by providing resources for prevention and stabilization, in addition to our core work in shelter. We thrilled to continue working with an amazing organization like HUMI
Help Us Move In Executive Director Sarah Scherer is enthusiastic about the two organizations working together. “HUMI is very excited to partner with Family Promise and multiply the impact for vulnerable families across the United States to become HOMELESS NO MORE!”
The partnership’s impact is best put by a mother who benefited from HUMI. “In a time of need, this program helped me. When family couldn’t and wouldn’t help, you did, and for this, I am very thankful.”
The Affiliates selected for the third grant cycle are:
Albuquerque (NM), Anoka County (MN), Bryan County (GA), Gainesville (FL), Genesee County (MI), Great Falls (MT), Hall County (GA), Lawrence (KS), Monmouth County (NJ), and Southern Chester County (PA)
About Family Promise
Founded in Summit, NJ in 1988 to address homelessness in Union County, Family Promise has grown into a national organization with more than 200 Affiliates in 43 states. Since then, Family Promise has served more than 825,000 people, the majority of them children. Family Promise Affiliates serve more than 90,000 people each year by providing shelter, food, and a host of other comprehensive support services.
Press Contact
Katie Coughlin, Digital Operations Manager
Family Promise
908-273-1100 ext. 15
kcoughlin@familypromise.org
