Family Promise of Monmouth County was established in 2001 with a mission to provide a safe haven to homeless families in cooperation with a network of interfaith congregations.
To accomplish its mission, Family Promise uses existing community resources, including the facilities and volunteers pledged by 11 congregations who comprise the network. Each host congregation furnishes overnight lodging and meals for up to five families for one week every 11 weeks on a rotating schedule. An additional 23 support congregations provide volunteers and financial support to assist the host congregations and professional staff.
Trained volunteers prepare meals, assist children with homework, provide babysitting and support parents as caring listeners.
The daily schedule begins each morning when guest families are transported by a 14-passenger van to their jobs, while children are taken to school in the last town where they lived. Others are brought to the Family Promise’s Day Center, where guests can bathe, wash clothes, prepare mid-day meal and receive intensive case management services. The staff offers professional case management services that assist families with housing, employment, job training, parenting skills and counseling and education.
Guests also have access to special counseling by volunteer accounting and legal professionals who offer one-on-one assistance with money management, debt control, credit repair and budgeting, as well as information and recommendations about bankruptcy. All volunteers must undergo Family Promise’s training. Volunteers of all ages are welcomed to help out at one of the host congregations or in the day center.
Ways in which volunteers work with guests include: time management, health and nutrition, exercise and stress management, leisure activities, tutoring, van driver. Ways in which volunteers can assist the agency include as: board members, fundraising and at the Day Center.
To volunteer, contact Shanna Goldstein at 732-495-1050 or e-mail: shanna@familypromisemc.org.
More information can be found on their website: www.familypromisemc.org
Does your parish, school or group need volunteer assistance? Put out a call for volunteers through the Faith in Action feature of The Monitor. Send all requests to Monitor-News@dioceseoftrenton.org. Type FAITH IN ACTION into the subject line.