What is Family Promise
There's no place like home. There's no place like home. I have to agree. Aren't you always ready to sleep in your own bed after a trip? How often do you remember to thank God for the roof over your head? I'll admit I often take it for granted.
My heart breaks when I hear about the number of children that don't have shelter. There are many families in Pinellas County without a place to call home. It saddens me when I think of those that sleep in their car and on the streets. In January, I shed tears when I saw with my own eyes that one of our guests was a mom with a ten-month-old.
Family Promise is an opportunity for us to serve those experiencing homelessness in our community. On Sunday, April 23rd Northwest will provide a safe shelter to families for seven nights. A chance to serve people in our community in need.
What does that involve?
Volunteers from Northwest can be meal hosts, dinner time hosts, day center hosts, and overnight hosts. Volunteers can donate food for sack lunches and grab-and-go breakfasts. Volunteers can assist with set-up before April 23rd and clean-up after April 30th.
What does a day for a Family Promise guest at Northwest look like?
Wake-up by 5:45 am.
Get ready to leave the overnight shelter location (Northwest).
Grab breakfast and pack a lunch.
Transportation arrives between 6:15 and 6:30 am. Guests are transported to the Day Center.
Meet with social workers, go to school, or go to work. The day center has showers and laundry.
Return to rotational shelter location (Northwest) at 5:30 pm.
The host shelter (Northwest) provides dinner at 6 pm.
Families gather in the common area (Fellowship Hall) to eat, do homework, activities, and videos, and relax until bedtime.
Families go to their rooms to sleep by 9 pm. (Beds are delivered to the host church. The host church provides sheets and blankets.)
What does a volunteer for Family Promise at Northwest do?
Meal host- prepares food for the guests and delivers to the Fellowship Hall by 6 pm (max number is 14 plus two dinner hosts). There can be more than one meal host.
Dinner host- coordinates dinner availability and oversees common area from 5:30- 8 pm: clean-up and food storage. Guests serve themselves.
Breakfast host- cook breakfast on Saturday 7:30-9 am.
Overnight host- arrive by 8 pm. Oversees the common area until all guests have gone to their rooms, sleeps on site, and is available for guests' needs.
Day Center hosts- covers shifts on Saturday and Sunday at the Day Center location on 22nd Ave. Acts as a gatekeeper at the site.
The Northwest family has answered the call and over 30 people have volunteered. Additional volunteers are always welcome. In January, we provided shelter to 3 families with 25 volunteers and 200 hours of serving others. Anyone volunteering with guests must complete the training and a background check. The training provides insight into what the guests experience and guidelines for our interactions with the guests.
Additional information about Family Promise can be found at www.ffpinellas.org. If you would like more information about how we are serving others, completing the training or a more detailed description of the host roles, I would love to share. Call the church office at (727)-345-2836.
God has richly blessed us! We have a facility that allows us to house families and a congregation full of servant hearts. Let’s work together to create a welcoming environment and a temporary home that is filled with Jesus’ love for our April 23rd guests.
Kym Samek
