Family Promise of Lawrence

Family Promise of Lawrence (FPL) continues to adjust programs and service offerings as a direct response to the needs presented in our local community. We serve families experiencing a housing crisis through a variety of programs including, Prevention, Diversion from Shelter, Shelter, and Stabilization. Each family served works with a case management team, which includes a case manager, a peer advocate who has lived experience of a housing or homeless situation, as well as with trained volunteers providing additional supports. Each family with their team works through the families own Housing Plan. With the Case Management Team, the family enrolled builds their housing plan. The support team then comes alongside each family in programming in order to help the family achieve their own housing plan goals. Wrap around, strength-based case management services are provided for all families and include local partnering agencies as needed for each unique family need. The goal of all programming, no matter where on the spectrum of services that a household enters FPL programs, is to get back into, or maintain housing. Housing is healthcare and during the pandemic, that fact became clearly obvious. Additional programs, such as Keys to Good Tenancy, Financial Literacy, Life Skills Programs, Budgeting and Savings Match Programs all have the primary goal to get families back into housing after a situation of homelessness or to stabilize housing so as to not have to experience homelessness. In 2022, Family Promise of Lawrence served 266 different families. Those families were made up of 832 individuals and 479 of them were children. About 20% of the families served participated in more than one of the FPL programs. 75% of those served participated in either the Prevention or Stabilization Program supports, while in their own home. 25% of those served had lost housing and were enrolled in either the Diversion or Shelter programs. Of those who were seeking shelter and had lost housing, 20% of them reported experiencing homelessness for the first time in 2022.