Family Promise meets to discuss needs of homeless families

Family Promise of Southern Delaware is a developing affiliate of Family Promise, a leading national organization that works to prevent and end homelessness with over 200 affiliates across the United States. The southern Delaware organization was incorporated in October 2019 and received its IRS 501c3 designation in June 2020. There is also another affiliate in New Castle County. 

Family Promise works to keep families together during times of crisis and provide prevention resources as well as shelter services and stabilization programs once a family secures housing. Its holistic approach intends to empower families to achieve sustainable independence. 

FPSDE held an in-person community meeting June 23 at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior on Bay Vista Road near Rehoboth. The meeting was for those in the community interested in assisting families with children who are experiencing homelessness.

FPSDE President Dale Smith presented a slideshow for attendees and discussed the homelessness problem in the Lewes and Rehoboth areas. Housing Alliance Delaware recently reported a 35 percent increase in homelessness statewide. Some homeless families have been living in their cars a church parking lot because they have nowhere else to go. A shortage of affordable housing and shelter as well as preventive services means there is significant need for support for homeless families in the eastern Sussex County.

Smith discussed winter shelters, which provide a place for homeless families to be out of the cold from December to March. There are plans in place to create a local year-round shelter for families and children. Stability for families is the goal, Smith said. 

Churches around the area host three to five families in a building. They provide meals and have a strong focus on hospitality. There are programs provided for helping with job interviews and tutoring for children of these families. FPSDE wants families to feel welcome and supported, especially in times of distress, and to offer families the resources they need to succeed.

The FPSDE Family Plan service model includes a continuum of care, offering steps for prevention, shelter diversion, shelter, and stabilization. Once families have the stability to exit the Family Promise shelter, FPSDE works to help ensure they will not become homeless again. 

When operational, FPSDE plans to work with three to five families at a time, assisting them with homelessness prevention and diverting them from entering a shelter system. It anticipates serving 30 families within the year, which will result in prevention of homelessness for about 100 children and their families.