Transitional Shelter
We aim to offer shelter with case management for homeless families in Aiken County
We recognize the need for a safe, stable shelter option for homeless families in our community.
Family Promise of Aiken County is working to identify and secure the resources needed to support a shelter that will include the individualized case management support that is the foundation of our programs. This support will empower our clients to break the cycle of housing insecurity so they may aspire to the future every family deserves.
This approach is working nationally. Across Family Promise affiliates, 78% of families in Family Promise shelter programs exit to stable housing.
It remains our steadfast goal to provide transitional shelter for homeless families we cannot currently serve through our Shelter Diversion program.
HOW IT WORKS
The resources are already there. In the community, there are congregations and organizations that can provide space in their buildings to serve as temporary homes. Day Centers, where families can take showers, receive case management, and look for housing and jobs, can be located at a house of worship or agency. There are multiple options for transportation to get families from the host shelters to the Day Center and back. With volunteers giving their time, making meals, and sharing hospitality, family homelessness is addressed without the creation of expensive shelters. Across the country, people have realized that this innovative approach truly makes a difference for families experiencing homelessness—and more than 200,000 volunteers.
These volunteers are the core of the program. They share food, spend the night, play with children and lend their passion and expertise to help families get back on their feet. They prove that motivated people can solve family homelessness. And, in the process, they truly create “home” – and a community – for families who have no place left to turn.
A COMMUNITY RESPONSE
In every community, these core elements exist. By bringing the community together on the issue of family homelessness, Family Promise addresses a major social problem in a holistic, effective way. Once the community becomes engaged, people understand the root causes of family homelessness and take steps to address them. Family Promise Affiliates have created more than 1,700 community initiatives—housing programs, homelessness prevention, childcare and much more—that target the issues of poverty and homelessness on a local level.
A LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Not only does our 88% success rate mean many more families stably housed, it is also a tremendous cost saving to the community as diversion from far more expensive interventions. Our approach of keeping families together, identifying their strengths, and partnering with the community for solutions means that families are at much lower risk of returning to homelessness.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Family Promise changes lives. We served 126,000 parents and children last year, giving them the ability to realize their true potential. We also change the lives of our 200,000 volunteers, giving them a meaningful outreach right in their own communities.