Faith community to offer promise of housing to homeless S.J. families

STOCKTON — Homeless families will have new shelter options beginning this summer along with social services and transportation through the efforts of more than two dozen faith communities in the county.

Family Promise of San Joaquin County has brought together 28 congregations to plan and organize a program providing shortterm housing, nightly meals, transportation and services including job preparation and financial planning to homeless families accepted into the program.

The interfaith network currently includes 12 “host congregations” that will provide some form of housing and 17 “support congregations” that will contribute volunteers and whatever else they can to the program.

Volunteers from the congregations will share food, spend the night, play with the children and “lend their passion and expertise to help families get back on their feet,” according to Family Promise, “proof that passionate, motivated people can help solve family homelessness.”

The congregations met earlier this week, many for the first time.

“It was a fabulous turnout with 75 people from all 28 congregations,” Family Promise organizer Cathy Meyer said. “It was just amazing the amount of energy in the room and the excitement from all these congregations that want to do something to make a difference for homeless families.”

Families will be accepted after being interviewed. They should be ready to reorient themselves to get on track to obtain stable housing, according to Meyer. She expects many will be referred to Family Promise through area school districts.

The effort also entails leasing and renovating the first floor of downtown Stockton"s MedicoDental Building to serve as a day center where showers, laundry and social services will be offered. Help is being provided by building owner Zac Cort and Ten Space.

Organizers are working now to secure funding for the Family Promise Day Center that is anticipated to open with a director and case manager who will provide intense support covering goal setting, financial planning, job hunting and housing searches during the two to three months that families will be allowed to stay with Family Promise. Each congregation that agrees to be a host congregation will feed and house a family up to four weeks out of the year. They include:

Central United Methodist Church; City Church; First Presbyterian Church; First Unitarian Church UU; Holy Cross Methodist Church; Hope Church; St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church; St. Paul’s Methodist Church of Manteca; Stockton Covenant Church; Temple Israel; United Lutheran Church of Manteca; and Zion Lutheran Church.

Family Promise of San Joaquin County’s stated goal is not just about getting families into some form of housing. It is also about addressing the underlying issues that created the situation in the first place. Through the use of community resources, it is able to provide short-term housing solutions while also preparing families for the steps they will need to take to acquire and sustain stable housing.

“We’ll be working with one family at a time to make a lasting difference for these people,” Meyer said.