Family Promise is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence.   Based in Summit , NJ , Family Promise was founded in 1988 on the belief that Americans are compassionate people who want to make a difference. With 100 affiliates in 34 states, and dozens more in development, Family Promise programs involve more than 95,000 volunteers from 3,500 religious congregations and are part of a single national strategy to mobilize and unleash communities for social change. The programs relate to each other and build on a network of religious congregations of all faiths working closely with community agencies, organizations and institutions to provide:.

• Interfaith Hospitality Networks (IHNs) provide shelter, meals and comprehensive support services to homeless families utilizing houses of worship for lodging and drawing volunteers from religious congregations.
• Family Mentoring Program trains volunteers to advise and advocate for at-risk families in order to help them achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
• Community Initiatives are developed by volunteers to meet the needs of homeless families and include transitional housing, parenting and job training classes, tutoring and clothing and food pantries.
• Just Neighbors is a multi-media interactive education program that raises awareness of poverty and homelessness and their root causes.

Family Mentoring Program: Goals and Objectives

The goal of the Family Mentoring Program is to assist economically vulnerable families to become self-reliant by pairing them with volunteer mentors. Mentors are trained to offer both practical and emotional support by helping a family define and set goals and regularly reviewing progress towards achieving them.   Mentors also work with the family to   identify and locate community resources and act as friends and confidants. They may assist with education, parenting skills and employment, as well as other practical needs. Family Promise has mentoring programs in six locations nationally at present and is working with other communities to develop them. The design is easily replicable, and Family Promise also provides technical assistance and training to other nonprofits and communities that want to begin their own mentoring programs, including providing materials to assist with recruiting, training and fundraising.

Every mentoring partnership is unique because it centers on the individual family’s goals.   Areas of focus and sample activities include:

• Education (studying for a high school equivalency diploma, studying English)
• Finances (developing budgeting skills, negotiating credit arrangements)
• Employment (obtaining a job or working toward a more desirable one)
• Transportation (obtaining license and vehicle, understanding public transportation)
• Household (obtaining furnishings, searching for a different residence)
• Parenting (improving understanding of and skill in dealing with children)
• Health (learning sound nutritional principles, arranging for health screening)
• Communication (obtaining and effectively using technology as a resource)

Families Served

Participation is voluntary and families are referred by the local IHN or a social service organization. The local mentoring director matches families and mentors and assures they understand and commit to program purposes and policies. The family and mentor agree to meet weekly for approximately one year. The population served is primarily families whose incomes are below or within 30 percent of the federal poverty level. Over half are headed by a female single parent.

Mentors

Mentors are selected from volunteer candidates who apply for the program and are thoroughly interviewed and screened.   If selected, they must first attend 12 hours of training, complete weekly reports and participate in a monthly mentors meeting.   Family Promise’s volunteer-driven approach to provide basic support complements a traditional agency-provided approach. Volunteer mentors help build self-esteem, confidence and hope. Volunteers are there to listen, coach and connect families with community resources. Every successful mentoring relationship is based on a personal, trusting, caring relationship grounded in mutual respect, regardless of specific goals being pursued.

Community Partnerships

The Family Promise Mentoring Program works in cooperation with local social service agencies and shelters that refer families to the program, in addition to local IHNs.  

Contact

For more information, see www.familypromise.org or contact us at:

info@familypromise.org; phone: 908-273-1100

Family Promise Mentoring Program

71 Summit Avenue

Summit , NJ 07901