“Mommy, where are we sleeping tonight?” Every parent hopes their children will never ask those words. In Northern Kentucky, our region is blessed to have more resources than many other areas of our state. But homelessness and lack of economic opportunity are still real issues facing local families.
Lisa Desmarais, Executive Director of Family Promise of Northern Kentucky, recently spoke to Florence Rotary about the organization’s work in helping struggling families get housing and jobs. Family Promise, formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network, was founded 19 years ago to help battle homelessness. The group’s founders created a faith-based collaborative, focused on empowering Northern Kentucky children and their families who are experiencing temporary homelessness to attain sustainable independence.
Family Promise works with families in at-risk situations (lost jobs, lost housing, medical expenses) who suddenly find themselves without resources. During 2011, 26 families, including 49 children, were served by Family Promise. The program, focused on keeping families together, uses a network of 55 churches to provide overnight shelter and daily meals. During the day, guest families use the Day Center in Newport for daily activities. Professional case workers are on-site to help arrange child care, education, employment and housing, as well as provide parenting, budgeting and job hunting skills.
Families who complete the Shelter Program and achieve job security can live for up to six months in transitional housing provided by Family Promise. During this rent-free period, residents are helped to find permanent, affordable housing and become self-sufficient.
Ms. Desmarais shared with the Rotarians the sobering statistics that home foreclosures and evictions have risen steadily in our region for the last 4 years, with homeless children resorting to “couch surfing” , meaning they sleep on the sofa at a friend or relative’s home, constantly moving from place to place with no stable residence.
Children in this situation often miss school or change schools so frequently that they fall behind in basic learning skills. To combat the stress many of these children face, Family Promise offers Pet Therapy using specially trained dogs to provide a soothing presence, and a Children’s Reading Library that gives each child their own book to keep.
Family Promise of Northern Kentucky is not “just a bed.” Adults in the Shelter Program are expected to look for a job, save money, attend life skills classes, and work towards improving their situation. Over the past three years, an average of 45% of the guest families achieved permanent housing, and 75% maintained or increased household income.
As Ms. Desmarais said in closing, “It is our vision that every family has a home, a livelihood, and the chance to build a better future, together.”
The Florence Rotary Club meets most Mondays at noon at the Airport Hilton Hotel in Florence. For more information about the Club, contact Pat Moynahan, President, at amoynahan@insightbb.com or 859-802-0242, or visit the club’s website at www.florencerotary.com
