Indiana County Family Promise

Homelessness prevention is good public AND fiscal policy. Will you help us prevent families from experiencing homelessness? #FPGivingDay2021 Click the link below to show your support! https://www.fpgives.org//family-promise-of-indiana-co-inc-

Family Promise National has received a 4 star rating from Charity Navagator. This is the 8th consecutive time that Family Promise has received this distinction, Placing it among only six percent of rated non-profits.

Former board president Aaron Lehman will be on the Anthony Frazier show tomorrow talking about Family Promise of Indiana County, homelessness, poverty, beyond shelter, and Family Promise Giving Day which is April 21st. Tune in if you can.

Thank you so much Colonial Motors for helping us fight homelessness in Indiana County!

Today is a day of many blessings here at the Day Center. A number of people in the community have stepped forward to help our families. Here is a picture of Fallon Wood who is representing the owners and staff at Firestone Energy Services. They provide a number of things including shoes, Christmas hams, gift cards for car repairs and bus tickets. Thank you Firestone for making a difference for our families!

The Prevention Case manager is responsible for working with families enrolled in shelter, prevention, stabilization or supportive housing programs with the goal to develop a personalized case management plan that will develop the best possible scenario for sustainable independent living. Qualifications and Requirements for this Position: Preferably a 4-year degree in human services or comparable combination of education/work related experience preferred. Experience in ...social service setting with working knowledge of case management systems and planning techniques. Knowledge of homeless and housing related resources. Experience working with homeless families preferred. Must be proficient in the following computer applicationsMS Office; must be able to learn and use client database for recordkeeping. Must be able to drive agency vehicles. Must possess a valid driver license. Must pass child abuse clearances. See more

Candy is in our program currently. Here us what she has to say about Family Promise.

Recognizing that there are many needs in our community, we have tried to keep our store open as much as possible throughout COVID-19. This past week we were able to sell a bed ($5) to a woman who hasn't had a bed in 10 years and sell a couch, recliner and assorted household items to a woman whose family lost everything in a house fire. Thank you to everyone who donates money, furniture and other items to us to help us improve the lives of people in Indiana Co.

It’s the season of giving, and Colonial Auto Group is partnering with Family Promise of Indiana County! We are gifting $100 for every new car sold at both Colo...nial Toyota & Colonial Motor Mart! Our goal is to donate $10,000, and we can’t get there without your help! Stop in and see us at either location, and see why we say the Colonial Experience can’t be beat! Indiana County Family Promise #generosity #givingback #colonialcares See more

Ours is 84%, but who is keeping track.

Here are some pictures of just some of the things we have here at the Beyond Shelter Store at Family Promise. We are anticipating getting a twin bed and a set of bunk beds delivered on Monday. We get new items all the time. Come in and look around.....you never know what treasures you will find.

Today is my 10 year work anniversary at Family Promise. Hard to believe it has been 10 years. I look back and see all that has been accomplished and how bless...ed I have been to have this job. But I couldn't do it alone. Thanks to the original Board who hired me and the current Board who gives me so much support. I am also grateful to all the volunteers and congregations who have walked along side me. I look forward to another 10 years. See more

Between now and December 18th, we have a limited number of gift bags to give out to families with children. They will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. The bags are filled with games, arts and crafts, books and other activities for families to do while people are staying in due to COVID 19 We are grateful for a grant from Berks County Head Start that made these gift bags possible. Families must qualify to use the Beyond Shelter Store in order to qualify for a gift bag.

A bit late, but Aaron does explain about our beyond shelter program.

Thank you Girl Scout Troops 42001, 43102 and 40828! https://www.indianagazette.com//article_db3c157e-2da3-11eb

If you are a store customer or qualify to use our store, come in on Black Friday and check out our Christmas sale.

When I first read this article, I thought about the life size Monopoly game fundraiser that we have every year for Family Promise of Indiana. I thought that it may be a bit inappropriate for a shelter that houses homeless families. Then I thought more about it and it is interesting that a game that was made to show income inequality now represents winner take all and players are happy when someone goes bankrupt. It is interesting that sometimes the more wealth you have accumulated snd the more you win, the less you think of those not as fortunate. I know it is just a game, but it does illustrate some of the problems in our society. We will still use the game but it will have a different meaning for me and I am even more excited about the fundraiser. Aaron Lehman

Homelessness doesn't define a person.

Our new sign. Thank you Fast Times.

I’ve always understood that homelessness is an issue, he says. What appeals to me about Family Promise is that they’re not just giving families temporary shelter but providing sustaining assistance. Their philosophy is ‘We’ll help you until you don’t need help.’ http://www.familypromiseofindianacounty.com

We have openings at our Public Housing Sites! Apply today!

...and Silver Canoe Campground.

A big shout out to our MONOPOLY Property Sponsors for this year. Thank you for supporting this vital service in Indiana Co.

Thank you InFirst Bank for being our Community Bankers this year.

Coming in at 2nd place was Team First Commonwealth Bank. Congratulations and thanks for being our primary sponsor this year!

Congratulations Berkshire Hathaway for their second consecutive MONOPOLY Challenge Championship!

It's #ChildHealthDay, so here's a reminder of how homelessness affects children.

What a great way to end my week! Brownies, Daisies and Girl Scouts from Troop #42001, #43102 and #40828 came to deliver personal hygiene items and birthday bags. They also made a financial contribution. The girls raised the money by selling Girl Scout Cookies. The birthday bags contain party supplies, gifts and cake mixes so families do not have to use their cash resources but the children still get the experience of celebrating their birthdays. Thank you so much, girls! Your donations will help change many lives.

Long but an amazing talk.

We have a bunch of furniture at the store. Bedroom suite, queen mattress and box spring, couches. Etc. Come up and check it out.

We also have the same kind of success story. One of our graduates is in law school.

Gina was a past Board Member and supporter of this ministry. Family Promise staff and Board express our condolences to Gina's family.

Here is a list of our 2019 In-kind Donations: 1250 nights of shelter at $25/night=$31,250 999 nights of shelter at the transition house at $25/night=$24,975 Meals-$7500... Congregation Volunteer hours-$10,790 Office Angels=$5034 Furniture & Household items=$13,200 Store Items/Wishlist=$7250 What this means is that the volunteers in the churches that are involved with our network and volunteers in the community provided a total of $99,999 worth of services to the families that we serve. Thank you! We couldn't do this important work without the support of this community.

This is what we do. Please think of making a monthly donation. Thanks

Amazing. It isn't easy to get out if poverty, but when you have people pulling for you and helping you, you can succeed. We need Family Promise of Indiana County here for the long term especially now. For those of you that have donated and supported us, thank you, thank you, thank you. ... Together we can improve Indiana County. We will celebrate our 10 year anniversary in December. If every follower of ours donates $5 a month that would go a long way to making sure we are here for many more years.

Thanks to a grant from Head Start and Penn Fencing, our children now have a safer place to play. We are loving our new fence!

From Family Promise National Our homelessness prevention work is all the more important in the age of coronavirus. You can learn more about our impact on housing-insecure families by checking out our Annual Impact Report: bit.ly/FamilyPromise19AIR

We have a new landscaper at the Day Center. She even has her own 'break room'. Rylynn is a great helper!

Today we were honored with a visit from Congressman Glenn Thompson. We talked about how Family Promise of Indiana County helps homeless families and the model we use. He was very receptive and hopefully will help us in the future. Pictured are Board Member Richard Rinkus, Board President Aaron Lehman, and Congressman Thompson in case you couldn't tell since we are all wearing masks.

Another example of how Family Promise helps. We find solutions for problems.

"Our biggest concern is that we don’t want to lose our children. Will they take them because we have nowhere to go?"

Do you want to help us advocate for families experiencing homelessness? Learn how

Board President works tirelessly to make people aware of the problem of child homelessness in Indiana County. Thanks Aaron Lehman for your willingness to serve!

On Saturday I went to the Indiana PA Country Faire Market to promote Family Promise of Indiana County. A lot of people gave us donations and I was able to talk to many people about homelessness in the area. One of the issues I talk about is that people who are in poverty or are homeless usually don't know how to live any other way. At Family Promise we help them regain their dignity by teaching them that there is different way to live. I was talking to a gentleman at the Fa...ire who grew up in generational poverty. Since it is hard for people in generational poverty to see any other way to live, I asked him how he rose out of poverty. He said he saw his extended family that were not in poverty and wanted to be like them. He also realized that if his extended family was not around, he may not be where he is today. So, if this gentleman did not have these role-models he may not be where he is today. This is why education is so important to people that are homeless or are in poverty. They need to learn that poverty is not a lifestyle. It is stories like these that keep me motivated to keep spreading the word of Family Promise and homelessness in the area.

But the pandemic has shown how so many in the suburbs are really only a paycheck away from falling into poverty or losing their homes, he said.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Beyond Shelter Family Promise Store will be closed from July 13th through July 17th. We will reopen at 10 am on Monday, July 20th. Help us spread the word.

Because of COVID-19, our Eviction Crisis will soon get worse.

From our founder.

On June 20th, our board president, Aaron Lehman participated in #Nightwithoutabed to raise awareness of the problem of homelessness. If you did not see his live stream, go to our channel on YouTube where you can view all of the videos. While you are there, like the videos and hit the subscription button. You will then be notified every time Family Promise uploads a video. https://studio.youtube.com//UCYrDL6-sBFL15N/videos/upload

We had such a great visit with Sam Gloyd last week when he stopped to see our Indiana Affiliate on his bike ride from Natick, MA to the state of Indiana. Here is some additional information about his quest. Sam Gloyd, a van driver for Family Promise Metrowest in Natick, MA, embarked on a cross-country cycling trip in mid-June to learn more about the challenges facing our country and bring... greater awareness to the issue of family homelessness. He left from our Day Center in Natick, Massachusetts and hopes to end somewhere on the West Coastwherever the road takes him! Sam has been an avid cyclist since he made his first cross-country ride with a group of young men after college. On this trip, Sam is traveling solo, camping out along the way, and visiting several of the 200+ Family Promise affiliates operating across the United States to learn about the families they serve and the various challenges faced in different regions of the country. This trip is really something of a quest for me, Sam says. In part, I’m hoping to reconnect with family in Indiana and will be visiting with a retired minister in Michigan, who played a particularly inspirational role in my life. But beyond reconnecting with family and friends, Sam is looking to meet and engage as much as possible with people he doesn’t know, both through daily interactions along his route and through the connections he makes as he visits other affiliates in the Family Promise network. There are so many things tearing our country apart right now. I see this trip as a great opportunity to meet people, engage in conversations around what separates us as humans, contemplate what role I might be playing in that, and to report on what I discover. See more

Family Promise thanks Bill and his staff for their most thoughtful donation. during the time that families are homeless, having the opportunity to do something normal is greatly appreciated.

With Sam Gloyd who is riding his bike across the country to raise awareness for homeless familes!!!! So glad he could stop in Indiana the Town not the State of Indiana where he is originally from.

We are honored that Sam Gloyd will be stopping by tomorrow at the Day Center. It is amazing what he is doing to raise awareness about homelessness.