Family Promise of Metro East
February 2021
In January Beckie Lee, Board Chair of Family Promise of Metro East spoke to members of the Interfaith Alliance Coordinating Council seeking support and partnership from the Interfaith Alliance and our member congregations. Family Promise has formed a local chapter with focus on serving children and families in NE and SE Portland experiencing homelessness through the efforts of host and support congregations.
Family Promise’s mission is to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. With over 200 local affiliates throughout the United States the Family Promise network serves more than 110,000 people yearly with over 200,000 volunteers.
Family Promise engages the faith community, through over 6,000 congregations of all denominations, to provide shelter, volunteers, and compassion to families in need. Their holistic approach to the crisis of family homelessness includes three key areas of focus: prevention, shelter, and stabilization.
This is a critical work. According to the organization Family Promise, this year in America more than 2.5 million children will experience homelessness.
Each Family Promise begins through the creation of a rotational shelter network. Congregations and organizations come together to provide shelter for homeless children and their families 4-5 times a year for a week. Other support congregations provide meals and other services during the weeks their cluster provides a home shelter. It’s a simple model that allows congregations and organizations small and large to make a modest, yet meaningful impact.
Current host congregations include Ascension Catholic Church, Central Christian Church, Community of Christ, Discovery Christian Center, Portland Mennonite Church and Tabor Heights United Methodist Church. They provide space for up to 4 families (14 individuals) to stay for a week at a time, 4-5 times per year. Trained volunteers serve as hosts or support hosts to coordinate meals, homework, and fellowship.
The Interfaith Alliance on Poverty is exploring how we at Interfaith Alliance congregations might be supportive to Family Promise of Metro East. If you want more information about how this works, please contact
Dave Albertine
We plan on a Zoom meeting soon with Beckie Lee to gain additional information and to answer detail and process questions. In the meantime, please visit the Family Promise Metro East website http://www.familypromisemetroeast.org and the Family Promise national organization website at https://familypromise.org/.