ISSUE 115
NEWSLETTER
MAY 2021
@home
WITH COLDWELL BANKER TOMLINSON
Family Promise of Spokane – A springboard to self-reliance Contributed by Craig Howard, Family Promise of Spokane
I
magine showing up at the doorstep of a 24/7 emergency shelter with everything you owned stuffed into four suitcases. At your side are your kids, sad and bewildered. The secure world you once knew is gone. Everything now seems dark and desperate. Then picture the door opening and a warm, smiling face greeting you. The woman inside has gone through the same experience just a few years before. She knows the despair. She also knows hope is just around the corner. A hot meal is ready within minutes. Extra clothes are piled nearby. Words of encouragement and support surround you. It all feels strangely familiar, the layers of reassurance and compassion. People are listening when you talk. They seem to understand and care. “Don’t worry,” the woman says. “It’s going to be alright. You’re safe here.”
It feels like family. Since 1997, Family Promise of Spokane (FPS) has been supplying some of our community’s most vulnerable families with a proven pathway to stability. Only 6 percent of the families served by FPS return to homelessness. “We are focusing on the hidden homeless,” said FPS Executive Director Joe Ader. “It’s probably what most people don’t think about when they picture homelessness. These families are living out of their cars, in motels or staying temporarily with family or friends – but the impact of them not having a permanent home is real.” The Family Promise approach centers around three pillars – Prevent, Provide and Prepare. The organization works to prevent homelessness through rental assistance and financial coaching while working with corporate partners like Avista to identify families that may be at risk of homelessness. ...continued on next page