OVER 1 MILLION SERVED SINCE 1988
As the leading organization addressing family homelessness, Family Promise impacts the lives of tens of thousands of people nationwide each year. That impact is illustrated in countless inspirational stories of success, but it is also reflected in our annual statistics: 200,000 volunteers, 177,000 family members served, 81% of the families we serve in shelter secure housing, and we return $3 in goods and services for every $1 raised.
177,000 SERVED LAST YEAR / 81% SECURE HOUSING (FAMILY PROMISE CENSUS)
In 2020, Family Promise Affiliates served more than 177,000 men, women, and children. 81% of the families we serve in our shelters secure housing, on average, within 9 weeks of entering the program.
But the majority of the family members we serve are not experiencing homelessness. Many are at risk of losing their housing and Family Promise prevention services like landlord mediation and rental assistance help them remain in their homes and avoid the trauma of homelessness. Others have graduated from the shelter program but are still facing the challenges of gaining true financial independence as they work to put their lives back together. Family Promise stabilization programs are there to offer support: food donations, transportation, financial capability, workforce development, health and wellness, and many more.
Our comprehensive approach helps at-risk families avoid homelessness in the first place and helps those we have served to create opportunities today that will allow them to realize their potential tomorrow.
200,000 VOLUNTEERS ENGAGED NATIONWIDE
There are 200+ operating Family Promise Affiliates in 43 states. Each Affiliate is supported by, on average, 25-30 congregations and other organizations providing the volunteers who are the backbone of our work. Affiliates that have a tracking system for their volunteers often count more than 3,000 in their community. They provide home-cooked meals, sleep overnight with the families, play Uno with the children, and provide skills-based training such as legal counsel, financial literacy, and childcare. It is difficult to determine a precise total for those who give of their time and resources, so we take a very conservative approach and estimate an average of 1,000 volunteers per Affiliate, multiplied by 200 Affiliates nationwide, to reach our total of 200,000.
HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY FACTS
- The three most cited reasons for family homelessness are:
1) Lack of affordable housing
2) Unemployment
3) Poverty - 2.5 million children will experience homelessness this year in America. 1 in 30 children in the United States experience homelessness annually.
- 1 in 19 children experiences homelessness before the first grade.
- In 2020, just under 172,000 people in families with children were experiencing homelessness.
- More than 3 million (1,387,573) students experienced homelessness in the 2018-2019 school year.
- In 2018-2019, nearly 3 million, or 6 percent, of children under age six were experiencing homelessness
- 51% of homeless children are under age 6 and, therefore, too young for school and are not counted.
- Students experiencing homelessness are 87 percent more likely to drop out of school than their housed peers.
- People in families with children make up 30 percent of the nation’s homeless population.
- Homeless families are often hidden from our view—they are living in shelters, cars, campgrounds, or doubled up in overcrowded apartments.
- 37.2 million people in the U.S. live below the poverty line.
- Nearly 11 million children (1 in 7) in U.S. live in poverty
- In 2020, 16.1% of people under age 18 lived in poverty.
- The official poverty line for a family of four with two children is $26,200 per year.
- The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. It has not been raised since 2009.
- A renter must earn $24.90/hour to afford a 2-bedroom rental in the U.S.
- The average minimum wage worker must work almost 97 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental home at the average Fair Market Rent.
- The average minimum wage worker must work almost 79 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom rental home at the average Fair Market Rent.
- In only 218 counties out of more than 3,000 in the country can a worker making the federal minimum wage afford a Fair Market Rent one-bedroom apartment.
- In no state, metropolitan area, or county in the U.S.can a worker earning the federal or prevailing state or local minimum wage afford a modest two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent.
- Adjusting for inflation, the median rent in the U.S. rose 61% between 1960 to 2016, while median renter income rose only 5%.
- 4 million households now spend more than 50% of their income on rent and utilities.
- Of those 10.4 million severely cost-burdened households, 7.6 million (72.5 percent) are extremely low-income renter households.
- Only 25 percent of those considered eligible for federal housing assistance receive help, due to lack of funding.
- For every 100 extremely low-income households, there are only 37 affordable rentals available on the market.
- The U.S. has a shortage of 6.8 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters.
- 10.5 percent of households were food-insecure in 2020 (where they may not have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life).
- 6.1 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure in 2020.
- Both children and adults were food insecure in 7.6 percent of households with children (2.9 million households).