Aid the homeless

Family Promise, a coalition of 19 religious groups, plans a fundraising event Sunday to help support homeless families in Albuquerque.

Anthony Thompson never expected to be homeless and certainly not with three children in tow.

Thompson, 43, who had been living in Oregon, suddenly had to return to Albuquerque in 2010 to care for his children when his ex-wife could no longer do so. Thompson no longer had contacts in Albuquerque, so he found himself unemployed and homeless.

Someone gave Thompson a phone number for Family Promise of Albuquerque, a volunteer organization comprised of 19 local churches and temples that helps homeless families get on their feet.

“A male has a sense of pride, and I never thought I could fall into something like that, but the program really helped me out,” said Thompson, who is now a board member for Family Promise.

Family Promise plans a fundraising event at 7 p.m. Sunday to help support homeless families in Albuquerque.

Thompson said he and his three children lived in at least eight different churches during the 90 days he remained in the program. The churches also provided the family with meals, job-skills training and other resources to help Thompson find a job and an apartment.

The program serves three families at a time, or just over 30 families a year.

“They help you prepare a résumé and practice interviewing,” he said.

Thompson now works at a call-center and he and his kids have a home. He is helping others by serving as a Family Promise board member.

Host congregations provide clean and safe lodging and two meals a day to families for a week at a time. Families rotate to different sites during the 30to 90-day program.