About Us

Family Promise of Blount County is a local affiliate of the national Family Promise organization, which has been serving homeless families across the country for the last 20 years.  Family Promise’s mission is to unite the faith community, volunteers, and community resources to provide meals, temporary shelter, and social services to families without homes, enabling them to achieve lasting independence.  The organization has an 80% success rate nationally.  Family Promise of Blount County currently has a network of 27 Blount County churches that have agreed to provide shelter, meals, and support for homeless families, as well as a partner church that serves as Family Promise's Day Center facility.

• • On Sunday afternoon, the network van arrives at the host congregation with cots and the families' personal belongings to be set up in a designated space, such as classrooms or a fellowship hall with dividers. Volunteers set up the common area and the rooms for the families.
  • Guest families arrive at the host congregation Sunday evening. Families settle in, relax, and meet the coordinators and the evening volunteers. Dinner is served family style. Guests and volunteers share the meal together. Families are responsible for their children and help with cleanup and chores.
  • After dinner, volunteers and their families’ fellowship with guests and their families. Together, they play games, do homework, watch videos, or just talk.
  • Adults turn in at around 10:00 p.m., children at appropriate earlier bedtimes. Two volunteers spend the night at the congregation.
  • On Monday morning, volunteers serve breakfast at around 6:30 a.m., as they will every weekday; typically it is cereal and other convenient foods. Volunteers make food for lunch available in the kitchen area, and guest parents make sack lunches for their families.
  • During the day, the families will not be at the congregation. The network van picks the families up at 7:00 a.m. and takes them to the Day Center. From there, children go to school, and the parents go to their jobs.
  • If the parents do not have jobs, they work with the Director at the Day Center to seek employment, housing, and other resources to help them regain their independence. The Day Center has bathrooms with showers and other necessities to prepare for the day.
  • The van brings everyone back to the host congregation between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. , and the cycle repeats.
  • On the next Sunday, the families pack their things and leave the facility before Sunday services. The van driver takes them to the Day Center for the day until it is time to move on to the next congregation... and the next host congregation begins its week.
  • Once the families have been able to save money and find jobs, they are ready to move into housing. Families leave the network only when they are able to secure housing and maintain it. The goal of Family Promise is to enable a family to keep their housing after they leave the program, not merely to help them over the short term.
  • The relationship between Family Promise and a guest family does not end then. Congregations, volunteers, and case managers stay in contact with families, often through mentoring and other programs.
  • Supervision is provided by church volunteers.  At least two church members are present at all times the guests are in the building.  For a week-long period (Sunday evening to Sunday morning), guests are in the building from 5:30 pm to 7:30 am.

Staff

• During the day, guests stay at the Family Day Center, located at Green Meadow United Methodist Church.  The centralized location is a place guests can use for a mailing address and phone number as they home and job search.  Showers, laundry facilities, and the office of the Executive Director and Case Manager are also here.
• The staff of Family Promise of Blount County provide intensive case management services and work closely with the guests to assist them in finding sustainable housing, job training, employment, and additional needs they may have.