What: Family Promise of Truckee Meadows at St. John's Church is a program that houses families who are experiencing homelessness. It has been conducted nationally in churches for 20 years. St. John's is a host church in the Truckee Meadows. There are 9 churches committed to housing families and 10 support churches.
Why: Studies show that 40% of persons who are homeless are families. Transitional housing is limited in the Truckee Meadows especially if the children are older than 12. They are often separated from their parents or parent in shelters.
Who: The network director/case manager selects families. Strict guidelines are followed in the selection of families who will be our guests: No active drug or alcohol use, unstabilized mental illness or current domestic abuse will be accepted. There will be no more than 14 people housed at any one time at St. John's. The families are often those who live month to month and have a set back that force them out of their apartment/motel room. They are with us temporarily while they look for a new job or new housing.
Where: Families will come to us on Sunday afternoon. They will get their belongings settled (we are using rooms in the Sunday School wing). We will provide dinner, various evening entertainment or just "down" time - reading, TV, studying, etc. Each family will have a separate space for sleeping. There will be 2 St. John's volunteers spending the night every night in case of emergency and to be there as any host wouold. In the morning the guests will shower if they wish, have a cold breakfast and fix their own lunch from supplies we provide.
By 7:00 am, they will be transported to the Day Center (The parsonage at Faith Lutheran on 7th Street). This is where they can shower, work with the IHN Director to find housing, jobs, etc. Adults will go to work from there. Children will be bused to school from there. Parents with young children will be there for the day. Any other daily activities will be conducted from there.
The families will come back to St. John's around 5:00 p.m. and the routine will begin again. The families will be at St. John's from Sunday afternoon until the next Sunday morning. They will then be transported will all their belongings (and cots provided by Family Promise) to the next church in the rotation. All transportation is done via a new 15 passenger van that has been purchased by Family Promise.
When: We host families every 8 - 10 weeks. Our next hosting starts on October 29th.
How: How are we able to conduct this generous and life-changing program? Volunteers! We need volunteers to assist with breakfasts, lunches, dinners, ideas for activities and spending the night. We also need volunteers to help with laundry duties. Most importantly we need persons with warm hearts and helping hands.
We need folks to interact with our guests in the evening after dinner - like you would any guest in your home. This can be a family event for your entire family. We have received great support from so many at St. John's already! What an opportunity to put our Christianity to work. The possibilities are endless.
Who to contact: Marlene Hansen is the coordinator for St. John's. You may contact her with your desire to help in whatever way you can.
| Marlene Hansen | |
| 775-762-1530 | |
| mhansen@washoe.k12.nv.us |
Also, St. John's has a Task Force with members who are responsible
for various taks in operating such an important ministry. They are as follows:
Coordinator - Marlene Hansen
Family Information Coordinator - Open
Sign-Up Coordinator - Ethel Kleinsasser
Supplies Coordinator - Dee Russum
Publicity Coordinators - Open
Meals Coordinators - Dee Russum
Set-Up Coordinator - Ann McElreath
Breakdown Coordinator - Dee Russum
Other members - Lynn McLaughlin
