A promise to keep families together
Ever hear the story of the starfish thrower?
It's about a man who walks on a beach and finds thousands of starfish washed ashore. The man starts to throw the fish back into the water when another man walks up and asks why he is doing that, since there are far too many fish to save.
"How can you save them all?" the second man asks.
"One by one," the first man replies, as he throws another into the water.
The starfish is the agency logo at Family Promise, a new nonprofit that works to house homeless families – one at a time – in Sacramento.
Formed about 18 months ago, the program is designed to help only a few homeless families at a time. By focusing exclusively on a smaller number of clients – no more than 14 individuals – caseworkers can expend more time and resources on tackling all of the families issues that led to homelessness.
Some 80 percent of the agency's clients have found some sort of permanent housing within 60 days of starting the program, said Pat Sherman, Family Promise executive director.
"From the day that they come in...we start to look for places that could be a potential permanent home," said Sherman, who herself was homeless many years ago.
Family Promise works with 14 area congregations in housing homeless families with whom they work. Each congregation houses a family for a week somewhere in the congregation facilities. Members of that congregation provide dinner and breakfast to the family.
During the day, each participating family works with staff members from Family Promise in polishing their résumés, looking for work and filling out rental or housing program applications. Families are required to save 85 percent of whatever income they are receiving while they are participating in the program.
The program is especially appealing for homeless families because they can sleep together in a room at the congregations. Many homeless shelters require families to split up during the night, with boys sleeping in one area and girls in another.
"We keep our families intact. That's our key thing," said Don Fado, president of the Family Promise board.
Vaverri Turner, 25, is now enrolled in the program, hoping to find work and a home for herself and her three children.
"It helps me by providing a roof over my head and keeping me and my kids safe," Turner said.
Staff at Family Promise have asked Book of Dreams readers to help them buy household items for families whom they place in permanent housing.