Family Promise Of Monmouth County

Despite the rain we had a fabulous night at our 2nd Annual Cardboard Box City. Thank you to all the participants, sponsors and volunteers who made the night a great success. Every one of you are truly making a difference for homeless children and families in Monmouth County. Thank you.

As the summer wind turns once again to Fall it’s time to reflect on another busy summer here at FPMC.  With grateful thanks to the United Way of Monmouth County we have been able to add a case manager to work with our families.  Case management is the key component to what makes us successful here – we move families into permanent, independent, self sustained housing by targeting the causes of homelessness and prevent it in the future.  Until now, much of my time has been split between acting as director and case manager, and having Katie here to work with the families will make a big difference in what we can now accomplish as an agency.

We recently received news that our bid for property on the base of Fort Monmouth, if it indeed does close as projected, has been accepted by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization and Planning Authority (FMERPA) and recommended to HUD.   If HUD accepts this plan, then upon the closure of the base we will receive a building which will become our new day center.  This day center will not only be the new location for FPMC, but it will be the new hub for both  networks!  We are moving forward with the plan to build a southern Monmouth rotation, and this Fort Monmouth site will become a central day center where both sets of families will come to daily for laundry, showering, case management, job search, and all the other functions of our center as the “home away from home”.   We are grateful to the advisory committees of FMERPA, to the hard working staff at the FMERPA offices and the general public for recognizing the need for a larger family shelter in Monmouth County and the work we do at FPMC. 

Finally, we are waiting to hear whether our most recent project will be accepted by HUD.   The county asked us to participate in the “Continnuum of Care” submission this year with all other county providers of homeless services, and to present as the potential “Rapid Rehousing” agent.   This program is relatively new around the country and gaining momentum.   Google Rapid Rehousing for more information, but basically it would give FPMC the opportunity to help more families by providing short term rental assistance to families with few barriers to housing by creating partnerships with area landlords.   We’re extremely excited about this program and indebted to the individuals at the Monmouth County Division of Social Services/Human Services Advisory Committee Jeff Schwartz, Laurie Duhovney and Ginny Edwards, the Monmouth County Community Development Director.  Their faith in our agency’s ability to carry out this program is appreciated and we will do our best to meet their expectations.   For everyone waiting with us on this news, we should know right around the New Year – stay tuned!

We have certainly been blessed with wonderful friends, supporters and events over the past few months.  To quote our favorite childhood movie, “everything changes so quickly here!”  (Can you name that movie?  Trivia challenge!) 

There is a county wide bake sale being held at our supporting congregations on Sept. 27th.  On October 5th we are having our very first dinner-dance at McLoone’s Pier House from 6-10 p.m in Long Branch.   Call the office if you are interested in attending, tickets are going quickly and are only $60 per person.   Don’t forget the big gala held for us by the Hope for Children Foundation, this year it will be on November 7th and again at the Ocean Place Spa and Resort in Long Branch.  This fabulous event draws an amazing crowd, has great gifts and they are extremely generous to our organization.

As a non-profit organization in Monmouth County, it is continuously a challenge to find funds.   As the only shelter for homeless families in the county, we operate 365 days a year…and with shelter comes meals & snacks, beds, diapers, shower and laundry facilities, towels, clothing, hygiene and personal products, cleaning and maintenance supplies, transportation to/from work and school, and to/from the congregations where the families will sleep for the night.   To pull off this monumental task, we have 1,400 dedicated volunteers and 36 interfaith congregations.   Many of you might imagine that the bulk of our expenses would be covered with such an army of volunteers and free overnight accomodations, but such is not to be!  

We work out of a donated building that we use as our Day Center, but we still have to pay the exorbitant cost of local water, rising cost of heat, electricity, internet, phone and office expenses.   We maintain this building and pay all the costs associated with doing so – including the outside maintenance, supplies to run and clean the center and all the basic needs our guests need while they are with us.  These costs combined are nearly $16,000 every year!   

Transportation is another huge cost to us – we drive children to school and daycare, bring parents to and from work, and get everyone back and forth to their overnight accomodations every day of the year.   We also bring guests to job interviews, apartment hunting and to other important appointments – no small expense in a 15 passenger van and the rising cost of fuel!  To run, maintain, insure and gas up that van costs us $22,000 every year.  (Horse and wagon anyone?)

Don’t forget insurance!  Compulsory workers compensation, liability insurance and benefits for our employees – another $8,000 every year.  

Is anyone adding this up?  We’re already up to $46,000 a year, and I haven’t talked about programs (like our critical case management component, one year stabilization, donation/storage), salaries for our employees (2 full time and 2 part time), and other services.  Basically, it costs us $46,000 to open the doors to the Day Center before we get to the tough stuff.  

Remember that the Day Center is the hub of our network – it’s where it all comes together!  Families meet here, they shower, do their laundry and watch television.  They check their email, post their resumes, check phone messages and store their belongings.   They use this as their permanent mailing address so that they can receive mail and benefits.  This is where kids do homework and play on weekends.  The Day Center is where families meet with their case manager to overcome barriers to housing and focus on permanent, sustainable housing.   Bottom line – the Day Center makes it all happen.   I love the statistic that 88% of our families moved on to permanent housing of their own this year (no social programs of any kind!).  This means that we have ended homelessness for nearly 9 of 10 families who came through our Day Center door.

I ask you – is $46,000 too much to ask to create that kind of magic?  Just ask 9 out of 10 families who’s lives were transformed during the 70 days in our Day Center.

Supporting Family Promise of Monmouth County (and our amazing Day Center) is creating change.  It’s about giving real opportunities to people who want a new start, families who just want a chance to connect into their community as students, employees, tenants, maybe even homeowners one day.    Change lives, one family at a time.   Support Family Promise of Monmouth County today!

My first anniversary as director of Family Promise is just around the corner, and I can’t help but feel a measure of pride in all we have accomplished.   This year we celebrated a milestone of 100 families who have passed through our network seeking shelter – 300 men, women and children needing and receiving a warm bed, meals and hope for a better future. 

The demand is growing, and we are responding to that need by kicking off the campaign to build our second network here in Monmouth County.   Soon, we will have both a southern and northern Monmouth rotation capable of handling more than 40 homeless families each and every year!  The lives we change will be incalculable over time, and it will be thanks to the hard work of our volunteers who give so generously each year.

The Hope for Children Foundation continues to be a dedicated partner, fully engaged in making a real difference in the lives of children and families of Monmouth County.   Their financial donation this year has enabled us to establish the “Hand Up” program (which pays security deposits, transportation, childcare and enrichment services for families graduating from the shelter), a computer and one free year of internet to every graduating family, the “Family Pride” stabilization program (which provides in-home support for up to one year for all graduating families), the “Step Up” program (single parents receive rent, utility and childcare assistance for up to two years after graduating if they are attending school or job training), and an amount for program support, development & implementation.   The scope of what we are able to offer program graduates is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of this foundation, and we are so touched that they have become true partners in the successes of our families.

We are sorry to say that this year Keansburg United Methodist had to leave our network as host after several years of serving our families, but we are grateful for the work of their congregation and coordinator Martha.   No worries, we haven’t lost them entirely, they will always find ways to support the network!

 I hope all of you are as excited as we are about the new faces who will be joining us as we change and grow.   Church on the Hill (Ocean Twp) became a host this year and did a fabulous job – and I am certain our new partners will also do as well as they join our network.  

I would like to thank all the coordinators for making this first year such a pleasure.   To all of our community partners, another grateful thank you.   Our partnerships change lives – and there is plenty more to come!    Blessings to you all - 

One of the early observations I made after I joined Family Promise of Monmouth County was that families moved into empty or sparsely furnished apartments when they left our shelter – sometimes sleeping and eating on the floor for several weeks or months.   I wondered if they ever felt that they were coming “home” at the end of a long day, or if the children were able to perform at school if they weren’t able to get a decent night’s sleep.   

Everyone deserves to feel proud of the place they live, to invite friends or family over to share the joy of a new home, and to have a safe place in which to raise their family.  

The Hope for Children Foundation provides us with funding as a result of their generous fundraising gala held in November of each year.   In 2007, our staff decided to take a chance on a new idea and utilized a portion of the foundation money to create a donation and storage program.

It’s easy to participate in this program.  Area residents who wish to donate gently used home furnishings simply call our office, and several times a year we partner with Econo-Line movers in Wall Township to pick up those items.    The furniture is placed into storage and every graduating FP family who moves into an apartment is given the opportunity to “shop” in our storage facility.    The day they move, each family moves into a furnished apartment complete with beds, tables, dressers, refrigerators, and other necessities.   The staff and I install window blinds or curtains and all the small touches to make it a true homecoming for a family.  

We thank the Hope for Children Foundation for generously supporting this and many other programs for us, and invite all residents of Monmouth County to call us with donations of furniture.   

Family Promise of Monmouth County, as many of you know, is formerly the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Monmouth County.  I’m often asked why we have changed our name when the old one worked so well in describing our program – “Interfaith” referring to the network of multi-faith congregations who provide services  and the “Hospitality” extended to the guests who reside with us.  

I agree that the name did indeed cover the scope of services we provided in the past, but just as times change so do the services we now offer.   In keeping with the times, our parent (a.k.a. “National”) took on the name “Family Promise” that encompasses the hope, optimism and options we can offer families who pass through our doors seeking a new beginning.    This is a new beginning for families and for our own organization.  

In keeping with the feel of new beginnings, Family Promise of Monmouth County is proud to announce our newest support system for families, the Family Pride Stabilization Program.   The purpose of this program is to give support, counseling and care to families who have graduated from the shelter and who have moved out on their own for up to one year, with a goal of preventing future homelessness, reducing stress and increasing healthy lifestyles within families.  

We were able to create this program with a grant from the Bodman Foundation and a grant from the Hope for Children Foundation.   These generous partners in family health will enable us to follow our families once they leave our shelter and as they strike out on their own, guiding them as they struggle with obstacles they encounter  on their path to reintegration after homelessness.   The support and counseling will be carried out by a new and energetic partner, ICC&C (Integrated Care Concepts & Consultation) housed in Eatontown.   The partners involved, Larry Thompson, LCSW and John Soper, LPC will deliver services in the homes of our previous guests or any other convenient location identified by our guests for as long as they desire up to one year.   They will focus on reinforcing the skills families need to achieve independence, remain in the community and cope with stress in healthy ways.  

We are certain that this program will provide the much needed support that families need after they have left the environment of the shelter, and we hope you all share our excitement over Family Pride.   

Call the staff office if you would like more information on this or our other programs, 732-495-1050.     Thanks!   

Tara Maffei, MSW

Director