Building community, strengthening lives
HOME
What is Family Promise of North-Central Palm Beach
County?
It is a charitable organization composed of a network of host and
sponsor faith communities of many religions and denominations. It is the faith
communities of North-Central Palm Beach Counties response to homelessness for families
with children. The program is to bring immediate but temporary shelter, meals,
and support services to homeless families. The goal is to restore the families
to long term self sufficiency.
Family Promise of North-Central Palm Beach County is
new! This mission is opening its doors for the first time in 2009.
While Family Promise is new to Palm Beach County, there are nationally 139
chapters and more opening every year.
The Family Promise program is a cost-efficient, effective, and
replicable community response to family homelessness. Because we make use of
existing community resources, we can implement quickly, without major start-up
costs
Mission Statement:
Provide active assistance in helping low-income families with
children in North-Central Palm Beach County to achieve lasting independence and to
redress the underlying causes of poverty and homelessness in our
county.
Our 2009 Goals are:
- Open our doors for the first time to homeless families residing
in North-Central Palm Beach County in 2009
- Enroll multiple situationally homeless families with children in
our program in calendar year 2009. We expect to have approximately 14 family
members.
- Bring 80% of those enrolled in 2009 to self sufficiency which
means permanent housing for the family and employment for the head of
household.
Four key elements to achieving our
mission:
- Training volunteers as mentors to homeless families.
- Organizing congregations to provide shelter, meals, and
comprehensive support services to homeless families.
- Promoting and supporting the growth of new communities of
congregations.
- Searching for adequate housing and support services for
low-income families.
Did you
know?
Homeless Facts
National Facts:
Over the course of a year, 3.5 million people experience
homelessness; 1.35 million of them are children (NCH, June 2006).
Families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless
population, representing about 40% of all homeless people (NCH, June 2006).
Palm Beach County Facts:
In the 2007-2008 school year, 185 public schools (96%) reported at
least one family experiencing homelessness
There were over 2200 reported homeless children in Palm Beach
County school systems.
540 of those reported in North-Central Palm Beach County school
systems.
46 children reported in the Boca Raton school
system.
Students at the Mirochnick Religious School at B'nai Torah
Congregation in Boca Raton make tzedakah boxes to help Family Promise. Watch this Channel 12 news
story!