Family Promise of Irving partner with churches and business community to offer assistance to families

During the Great Recession, Americans managed to avoid the shame of the long soup lines seen during the Depression of last century. However, quietly the lives of many families were turned upside down resulting in a plunge out of the middle class toward poverty, hunger and even homelessness.

Seeking to assist struggling families in Irving, community activist Anthony Bond has issued a challenge to the community.

“I have began a private initiative to pledge $100 personally and I want to issue a challenge to at least 1,000 other citizens of Irving to match my pledge to Family Promise of Irving to help raise $100,000 for the homeless families of Irving,” challenges Bond.

Family Promise of Irving (FPI), located at 121 B South Story Road, is a 501 (c)(3) faith-based non-profit organization helps families with children in situational homelessness find a permanent solution through direct case management.

“While there are services in Irving that provide limited and temporary assistance for people in need, there was no organization whose focus was on permanent solutions for families with children,”  Ann Park, FPI Board of Director President said. “900 children were identified as homeless during the last school year in Irving ISD.  That translates to 200-250 families at some time during the school year who were without a permanent place to live.”

FPI is part of a nationally based organization launched over 20 years ago with affiliates in over 40 states via its Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN).  IHN consist of partners within the faith-base community (i.e., host and/or buddy churches) who act as the marshal in working with the families to provide support in the areas of housing, donations and volunteers. The ultimate goal is always seeking to help the families become fully independent.

A family of four with an annual income of $23,050 is considered to be living in poverty, according to the 2012 Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines.  In 2010, the American Community Survey reported Texas as one of the 12 states with a poverty rate above 17 percent as it stands at 17.9 percent.

FPI has served the needs of low-income and homeless families since June of 2010. According to Parks, a significant amount of the families in need of FPI services have income levels that barely meet their basic needs and do not have medical insurance, making it hard for families to save for unexpected expenses. It also becomes harder for families to survive on only one income.

“…the two major factors that lead to homelessness are insufficient income, and the lack of affordable housing.  Family Promise has also seen an increase in the number of clients who have lived a middle-class lifestyle who have been affected by the recent economic downturn,” Park said.

As a result of Grace Point Church of Irving donating the rent-free space on Story Road, Director Athena Clark is able to concentrate on the families they are serving at the Day Facility.  The Day Facility is a year round, with hours of operation designed to give the families a place to come during the day. Families can shower, do laundry, store personal items, use the telephone and search for a job on the facility’s two guest computers. It also gives the families a permanent address they can use when applying for jobs.  The FPI Day Facility is operated on a volunteer basis where volunteers are needed to handle basic administrative duties such as answering phones, data entry, and inventory management of supplies.

Families are generally given 30 days to utilize the full services provided by FPI, but according to Clark the 30 days can be extended on a case-by-case scenario. The national average time it takes for families to reach full independence is about 60 days at through FPI facilities.

“The goal is the families are up and running from the first week they are here,” Clark said. “We do comprehensive case management and we set goals on a weekly basis…they are on a track to get where they have to be.”

The Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce helped FPI establish business relationships with local  businesses looking for opportunities to give back to the community. These companies have provided financial and allowed their employees the opportunity to volunteer their time, knowledge and personal and professional skills. These companies also helped to recruit the current ten Board of Directors, with plans to expand to 15 in upcoming months.

“We are involved because we are looking for that future workforce,” comments Chris Wallace, President of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.

The business community is not the only to lend their hand to FPI. The faith community in Irving is also lending their support. The Irving Bible Church (IBC) was the first of 11 local churches who committed to serve as a host church. Each host church agrees to house three to five families at one time.

“We are committed to Family Promise in every way possible-financially, recruiting, and developing volunteers and sharing the story of how Family Promise is part of breaking the cycle of homelessness in Irving,” Pastor Bryan Eck of IBC said through a written comment. “Our facility is open to these struggling families along with letting them meet other families and individuals in our church who want to support and love them,” he continued.

Park said that IBC and other host congregations are essential partners who provide stable and supportive environments families need as they work towards independence.

Park shared, “As a coalition of local faith communities who provide volunteers, overnight lodging, and meals FPI is able to operate at one-third the cost of other nonprofit organizations.”

Eck shared how profound this organization has been for both the church and the people of IBC and encourages other churches to consider partnering.

“[T]he church can no longer be quiet while hurting and struggling families in Irving do not have a place to stay and feel loved and supported during their time of need,” Eck said.

For more information on volunteering or to make donations contact FPI office at 972-313-1500 or visit: www.familypromiseirving.org.