Family Promise of Bergen County

Walk-in dinner program: since 1991, Family Promise has provided free meals to anyone who needs one, no questions asked. When the housing health, and human services center opened in 2008, the County of Bergen asked Family Promise to provide meals to shelter residents and anyone from the community who came to eat in the shelter dining room. Beginning in april 2020, the County relocated shelter residents to motels to prevent the spread of covid19. Immediately, Family Promise volunteers began packing meals to-go and delivering them to the individuals at the motels. Family Promise provided additional to-go meals to members of the community who came to the shelter loading dock seeking a nightly meal. By 2022, the County had returned all the residents back to the shelter and Family Promise resumed feeding them inside. At the same time, there were approximately 150 people from thecommunity, many of them families with children, who had come to rely on the meals. We continue to provide them meals to-go. In 2023, Family Promise provided 70,000 meals to County shelter residents, and to families with children and individuals from the community. Since its inception in 1991, the Family Promise walk-in dinner has served over 1.4 million meals to vulnerable adults, families and children valued at approximately $7.0 million. Receiving free meals enables families and individuals to conserve some of their modest income and use it to pay rent, making this program a form of homeless prevention.

New leaf/new life: transitional housing program: homelessness is a complex situation with many causes and underlying issues. After a thorough screening and assessment period in the bridge program, clientfamilies who show particular motivation and need additional time to address their personal, financial, and employment goals have the opportunity to live in one of the apartments that Family Promise rents and manages. Family case managers offer support and guidance to families as they assume these independent living situations. Families can remain in an apartment for up to two years or more as long as they are working toward their goals. Families in this program are able to avail themselves of all of the services Family Promise offers. These include:- job training and educational advancement, which give parents the tools to compete for better paying jobs. Childcare and transportation subsidies remove common barriers to successful employment. - the financial education that families receive equips them with the knowledge necessary for effective money management. Families attend monthly workshops and meet individually with a professional financial coach at least monthly to address their unique financial challenges. Additionally, all families participate in a mandatory savings plan. Families build their savings and create and emergency fund which prepares them for unexpected challenges once the leave the program. - personal empowerment workshops help families increase their knowledge and gain confidence. When families become empowered, they begin operating from a standpoint of optimism and self-determination as they advance toward their goals. In 2023, families explored topics such as job readiness and soft skills training, positive parenting techniques, and relaxation techniques.

Homeless prevention program: it is much more cost effective to keep families in their current home than to rehouse them after they have been evicted. This is especially true as rents have skyrocketed since the beginning of the covid pandemic. Family Promise provides funding to working families for rent, rental arrears, and services designed to allow them to remain in stable housing. Often, a small amount of assistance can keep a Family from spiraling into homelessness. Families accepted into this program meet with case managers and are able to participate in additional activities to support their continued success maintaining stable housing. In 2022, Family Promise provided over $143,000 in homeless prevention funding to 36 families comprised of 46 adults and 52 children. Some families received funding for both rental arrears and rental assistance going forward, and are only counted once in our statistics.

The bridge program - prior to the covid pandemic, four families (up to 14 parents and children) were housed overnight at local congregations on a weekly rotating basis. When covid struck, the organization shifted its model and began to shelter these working families who were facing homelessness in hotels. This new models continues and gives families additional time to increase their skills, search for better jobs and new apartments, and spend quality Family time with their children when not at work. With the help of caring Family case managers, families explore the issues that contributed to them losing their housing and together, create a plan to address them. All families participate in financial education and other programs designed to help them overcome obstacles to self-sufficiency.

Camp lots-of-fun offers children experiencing homelessness a respite from the stress associated with not having a permanent residence and the stigma they may encounter. Children from Family Promise housing programs and those from the County and domestic violence shelters ages 5 - 12 are eligible. The children enjoy a two week summer camp filled with fun and attention. Paid staff includes the director, assistant director and head counselor. Members of the organization's youth council and other high school students serve as volunteer camp counselors. Acknowledging that many teens have to work during the summer, the organization offers a stipend to attract counselors from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Advocacy: board members, staff and qualified volunteers address the community congregations, clergy, businesses, members of community service organizations and students in order to educate them with regards to the issues and challenges which homeless families face. The goal is to enable the public to assess policies and the impact they might have on working poor families.