Who We Are
Our mission is to help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence.
What is Family Promise of Scotland County? Family Promise is a national program with a unique focus on helping homeless families stay together as they seek to obtain and remain in permanent housing. Its focus, then, is not just to provide shelter and assist families in obtaining appropriate long term housing but to give them the skills and the jobs they need to stay in housing. It is a fresh start through mentoring and teaching life skills such as budgeting and simple home maintenance.​
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What is the need for such a program in Scotland County? According to school district data there are an estimated known 83 children who are homeless within the Scotland County school district. However, the school district believes this number is actually higher as many students and families do not reveal this status. It also does not include the many homeless children who do not attend school at all. Our program’s emphasis is working with homeless children and their families to provide temporary shelter and obtain services necessary to move into permanent housing.
What is considered a family? Family Promise defines “family” as at least one parent or guardian of either gender and at least one child. Each family’s needs are unique so the number of families involved in the shelter portion of the program at one time is about three or four family units with an approximate total of 12-14 children and adults. This allows us to pay individual attention to the needs of each family. Over the course of a year we predict approximately 54 persons would be back in a home they can call their own as we will also serve families on the verge of homelessness with things such as utility or rent assistance. Our vision includes not only a large volunteer base drawn from area churches and the community at large to help families along their path to housing but also a part-time Executive Director.​
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What will a typical day look like? Families would start the day with the children going off to school and adults to work after breakfast. Arrangements would be made to accommodate other working schedules. Those adults without a job would stay at the center to work with their case manager and volunteers on getting employment and housing as well as learning life skills. Breakfast, lunch and dinner would be provided at set times for those residing in the shelter. The early evening would be dedicated to “family time” as homework is completed and play, tv, and personal time are enjoyed. At 10:00 each family would retire to their own rooms. Overnight there would be at least two volunteers who will stay at the shelter in case any emergency assistance would be needed.
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How will families enter the program? An application for the program will be completed and there would be background checks to look for things that would make the family ineligible such as a violent felony or active substance abuse. These would be followed by a personal interview.
What is the length of a family’s stay? Families will typically take 60-90 days to find permanent housing, but may apply for an extension if necessary. Nationally, 82% of families in Family Promise find housing within 9 weeks.