Promises of home

An interfaith program offers homeless families the tools they need to get back on their feet

Pamela Smith and her 4-year-old son were being evicted from their apartment last month -- she could not pay the rent -- when a church program offered her shelter.

Want to help? To volunteer, call 261-7478 or e-mail info@familypromisehawaii.org.

"It was a godsend," she said.

In the past month, Smith had been living in temporary quarters with two other families, moving each week to a different church involved with Family Promise of Hawaii. Thirteen churches from all denominations take turns each week providing meals and shelter. Her last week was spent in the sanctuary of St. John Lutheran Church in Kailua.

Program director Kent Anderson helped her find employment and a place to live. On Thursday, Smith was overjoyed as she got ready to move into an apartment.

Anderson said Family Promise, which started in March, is an interfaith program that originated on the mainland to meet the needs of homeless families. But unlike traditional shelters, the families have to be motivated and must take action to find housing and, if necessary, employment. Most of the parents are already working, he said.

But the program does not base its admission on a family's religious beliefs, Anderson said.

"We do not permit preaching or proselytizing (from church volunteers) unless a family initiates a conversation. We want to create a kind, caring environment with no strings attached," Anderson said.

Since its inception here, Family Promise has sheltered six families and assisted five in securing housing. Families are referred to the program by several social agencies, primarily the Institute for Human Services.

"We don't accept families with current substance abuse, domestic abuse or untreated mental illness," Anderson said.

The program's family center in Kailua provides case management, help with job and housing searches, and laundry and shower facilities.

"We equip families for self-sufficiency," Anderson said. "If the same family is with us for six to nine months, then we're not doing our job. The average stay is three months before they find permanent housing."

Anderson said the program is unique because it provides a way for congregations to help even if they cannot provide shelter and three meals 365 days a year. With the number of churches involved, one church on average provides shelter for one week out of every quarter, he said.

The program can handle a maximum of 14 family members at a time. That is the number that can fit into a van that takes them from one church to another or to the center, he said.

Volunteers at each church "spend a lot of time helping them get through the transition period and providing one-on-one human interaction," Anderson said. "It helps them feel they are in a loving, supportive environment."

Smith said, "The churches were a shock to me. I'm not used to people offering help, cooking meals. ... People there are awesome! There were no complaints I had or heard of. Each church put their heart into it."

Wendy Saito, program coordinator at St. John, which has been the host shelter twice so far, said church members felt it "was a very positive experience. The families were extremely appreciative."

She said it was relatively easy for volunteers to make the sanctuary "like a home for a week." To give families privacy, they hung wires to support aloha-print curtains to section off sleeping areas, Saito said. Fold-up cots belonging to Family Promise are taken from church to church, she added.

Anderson said the churches usually set up the sleeping areas on a Sunday afternoon, and they are not allowed to take them down every day because these areas become the families' "home" -- it preserves "the privacy and dignity of the families." Although churches do not provide shower facilities, families can bathe at the center.

Two church volunteers per night provide dinner and also sleep overnight in case of any emergency, and to play with the children and offer general assistance.