Questions?
Please contact [email protected] or call Seth at (503) 753-3960.
A few of our frequently asked questions are below.
A few of our frequently asked questions are below.
How many host congregations are needed??
Ideally, Famil[email protected]y Promise of Metro East will have 13 host congregations, with each having an adequate number of volunteers to complete their week, usually between 35-50 volunteers. Currently we have eight and are looking for more. If your congregation, college, business, or other organization with some space that they could offer to shelter 3-5 families overnight for just four weeks a year, please contact us at [email protected]. Your support will help eliminate family houselessness, one family at a time.
What is a support congregation or group?
This is a congregation or other group of people that does not have the physical space or cannot dedicate the space to families for one week at a time, four times a year. They do however have volunteers, money, or other resources that is used to help host congregations who may need assistance during their hosting week. Their volunteers may help make and donate meals, provide activities and hospitality or just spend the night at the host site. Do you have a congregation or group of people that would like to learn more? Contact us!
How do we handle transportation?
Family Promise of Metro East collaborates with Metropolitan Family Services and Ride Connection for the use of a minibus. Ride Connection owns the buses, Metropolitan Family Services uses the bus during the daytime hours and Family Promise of Metro East use it to transport our families from the Family Day Center to the Host Site and back in the mornings and evening. We even get to use it on the weekends to take our families on fun outings! Would you like to volunteer to become a FPME Minibus Driver? Fill out our volunteer application here.
What facilities do host congregations have for our guests?
Our host sites usually include a lounge area (with sofa, chairs, tables, TV), a dining area, a kitchen, bathrooms, and sleeping accommodations. At some host sites our guests get a separate room, such as a classroom, for each family. If that isn’t possible, a fellowship hall or other large room is divided by partitions or four-sided canopy tents to provide privacy.
We want to host but our building is in use almost all the time. How will we find the space?
Churches, synagogues, temples, businesses and schools are busy places with many demands on their space. Rarely does a perfect space exist. Hosting almost always means making some scheduling adjustments for activities and meetings. For example, four or five times a year, AA or the Bible Study Group may need to move their Tuesday night meeting to another room. Schools can host during school holidays. We will work with you to share ideas that might lead to a perfect fit.
Can families’ belongings be moved in the morning and moved back in the evening to permit the congregation to use the space during the day?
No. The sleeping accommodations need to be dedicated to the families for the entire host week. The beds and the guests’ belongings must not be moved in the morning and put back in the evening. Besides being cumbersome, moving the beds and the guests’ belongings would be difficult for guests. When guests arrive on Sunday, they come with their belongings and perhaps a few of their children’s favorite toys. They want to arrange their space as if it were their home.
How long do families stay in the program?
The Guest Guidelines call for a maximum stay of 30 days. However, we often extend the stay as long as families are making good-faith efforts to find housing. Sometimes families have found housing in less than 30 days. For other families it may take up to six months.
Where do guest families stay during the day on weekends?
Families stay at our Family Day Center where they are during the day on weekdays unless they are working, going to school or doing things they need to accomplish to qualify for permanent housing.
How are families referred to the program?
Families find Family Promise of Metro East in a variety of ways. They are referred by 211, their places of worship, schools, DHS or families that have already graduated from our program. Sometimes they find us by doing their own online research. However they find us, we feel honored to be able to help in a time of need.
Isn’t it difficult for families to move week to week?
Moving every week isn’t ideal, but most families say that the homelike setting and the support of volunteers more than compensate for the moving. While host congregations/sites often change every week or two, the FPME Family Day Center remains the same, providing continuity and a home base for families as they look for housing and jobs. The Family Day Center also provides a permanent address that families can use in their housing and job searches and a consistent place for the children in our program to be picked up from school.
Will the children miss school because their families are staying in different congregations every week or two?
No. The Housing Navigator/Case Manager works with the school system to ensure that all children attend school. The Family Day Center is the permanent address for our guests. Children go to the school they have been attending or to the school nearest the day center. Arrangements are made locally with the school system.
In 1987, Congress passed the McKinney Act, legislation that requires all states and school districts to provide for the education of homeless youth. Each state has developed a plan to implement the Act. Oregon's plans are flexible and allow children to attend the school they last attended or the school closest to the shelter (in our case, the Family Day Center.)
What are the insurance implications of participating in the program? Does the host or support congregation or group have to amend its policy?
Family Promise of Metro East carries general liability insurance. Host sites are usually covered by their own property and liability policies. For congregations Family Promise is considered to be an outreach ministry, a regular activity of the church like a youth sleepover or Friday night supper. Most congregations and many other host sites such as schools or colleges find they do not need extra insurance to be hosts. To be certain, each host site must contact its insurance agent.
How is Family Promise of Metro East funded?
Funds are raised locally from individuals, congregations, foundations, corporations and business activities. We also hold fundraisers like our Help Us Move In Online Auction.
What are some advantages of the program over a more traditional shelter?
Ideally, Famil[email protected]y Promise of Metro East will have 13 host congregations, with each having an adequate number of volunteers to complete their week, usually between 35-50 volunteers. Currently we have eight and are looking for more. If your congregation, college, business, or other organization with some space that they could offer to shelter 3-5 families overnight for just four weeks a year, please contact us at [email protected]. Your support will help eliminate family houselessness, one family at a time.
What is a support congregation or group?
This is a congregation or other group of people that does not have the physical space or cannot dedicate the space to families for one week at a time, four times a year. They do however have volunteers, money, or other resources that is used to help host congregations who may need assistance during their hosting week. Their volunteers may help make and donate meals, provide activities and hospitality or just spend the night at the host site. Do you have a congregation or group of people that would like to learn more? Contact us!
How do we handle transportation?
Family Promise of Metro East collaborates with Metropolitan Family Services and Ride Connection for the use of a minibus. Ride Connection owns the buses, Metropolitan Family Services uses the bus during the daytime hours and Family Promise of Metro East use it to transport our families from the Family Day Center to the Host Site and back in the mornings and evening. We even get to use it on the weekends to take our families on fun outings! Would you like to volunteer to become a FPME Minibus Driver? Fill out our volunteer application here.
What facilities do host congregations have for our guests?
Our host sites usually include a lounge area (with sofa, chairs, tables, TV), a dining area, a kitchen, bathrooms, and sleeping accommodations. At some host sites our guests get a separate room, such as a classroom, for each family. If that isn’t possible, a fellowship hall or other large room is divided by partitions or four-sided canopy tents to provide privacy.
We want to host but our building is in use almost all the time. How will we find the space?
Churches, synagogues, temples, businesses and schools are busy places with many demands on their space. Rarely does a perfect space exist. Hosting almost always means making some scheduling adjustments for activities and meetings. For example, four or five times a year, AA or the Bible Study Group may need to move their Tuesday night meeting to another room. Schools can host during school holidays. We will work with you to share ideas that might lead to a perfect fit.
Can families’ belongings be moved in the morning and moved back in the evening to permit the congregation to use the space during the day?
No. The sleeping accommodations need to be dedicated to the families for the entire host week. The beds and the guests’ belongings must not be moved in the morning and put back in the evening. Besides being cumbersome, moving the beds and the guests’ belongings would be difficult for guests. When guests arrive on Sunday, they come with their belongings and perhaps a few of their children’s favorite toys. They want to arrange their space as if it were their home.
How long do families stay in the program?
The Guest Guidelines call for a maximum stay of 30 days. However, we often extend the stay as long as families are making good-faith efforts to find housing. Sometimes families have found housing in less than 30 days. For other families it may take up to six months.
Where do guest families stay during the day on weekends?
Families stay at our Family Day Center where they are during the day on weekdays unless they are working, going to school or doing things they need to accomplish to qualify for permanent housing.
How are families referred to the program?
Families find Family Promise of Metro East in a variety of ways. They are referred by 211, their places of worship, schools, DHS or families that have already graduated from our program. Sometimes they find us by doing their own online research. However they find us, we feel honored to be able to help in a time of need.
Isn’t it difficult for families to move week to week?
Moving every week isn’t ideal, but most families say that the homelike setting and the support of volunteers more than compensate for the moving. While host congregations/sites often change every week or two, the FPME Family Day Center remains the same, providing continuity and a home base for families as they look for housing and jobs. The Family Day Center also provides a permanent address that families can use in their housing and job searches and a consistent place for the children in our program to be picked up from school.
Will the children miss school because their families are staying in different congregations every week or two?
No. The Housing Navigator/Case Manager works with the school system to ensure that all children attend school. The Family Day Center is the permanent address for our guests. Children go to the school they have been attending or to the school nearest the day center. Arrangements are made locally with the school system.
In 1987, Congress passed the McKinney Act, legislation that requires all states and school districts to provide for the education of homeless youth. Each state has developed a plan to implement the Act. Oregon's plans are flexible and allow children to attend the school they last attended or the school closest to the shelter (in our case, the Family Day Center.)
What are the insurance implications of participating in the program? Does the host or support congregation or group have to amend its policy?
Family Promise of Metro East carries general liability insurance. Host sites are usually covered by their own property and liability policies. For congregations Family Promise is considered to be an outreach ministry, a regular activity of the church like a youth sleepover or Friday night supper. Most congregations and many other host sites such as schools or colleges find they do not need extra insurance to be hosts. To be certain, each host site must contact its insurance agent.
How is Family Promise of Metro East funded?
Funds are raised locally from individuals, congregations, foundations, corporations and business activities. We also hold fundraisers like our Help Us Move In Online Auction.
What are some advantages of the program over a more traditional shelter?
- An Affiliate is cost-effective because it utilizes existing community resources.
- The Family Promise doesn’t institutionalize shelter as a solution to homelessness.
- About 80 percent of our guest families find permanent housing, often with volunteers’ help.
- For Host Sites and Support Groups Family Promise of Metro East is a vital outreach ministry within the walls of the members’ own church, synagogue, temple, college business or other group. Family Promise of Metro East provides groups and individual a real, tangible way to be a part of the solution to family homelessness in East Multnomah County.
- An Affiliate is a catalyst for other community initiatives. Many active Affiliates go on to create new programs in areas such as parenting and mentoring, transitional housing, and housing renovation. Family Promise of Metro East has supported other nonprofits like HereTogether, a coalition committed to tackling the complex and deeply rooted issue of homelessness, because it matters for every person in our community. As a national entity work is also being done to end homelessness across our nation!
