To Volunteer Contact:
Sue Baysden at suebaysden@aol.com
Family Program Inquires Contact:
Junita Cathey at thecatheyfam@msn.com

September 5, 2010—The Community Responds
Family Promise of Anoka County began operation following a year of collaborative efforts by concerned Anoka county residents and housing experts. FPAC began taking families on the first day of school in September of 2010. We reached capacity in 48 hours and soon had a waiting list of more than 240!

A Proven Model Based On Decades Of Success
Our local Family Promise is based on the proven 20-year-old Interfaith Hospitality Network model active in more than 5,000 congregations and 39 states. Faith facilities are used to safely shelter famlies overnight, where they are cared for and fed by trained volunteers from that congregation.

Our Network And Capacity
A network consists of 13-14 congregations, each hosting families 2 – 4 times a year, for a week at a time. In most of these facilities, each family has a private sleeping room. Everything that each family needs for the week is provided by trained volunteers from the congregation: food, beds, and fellowship. Currently our program can handle up to 4 families or up to a total of 14 individuals at one time.

More Than Just Shelter
At 7:30 a.m. our “guest” families are transported in our van to our Day Center, which acts as their home base. This gives them several key advantages in getting back to indpendent living:

• Secure lockers to keep their belongings
• Showers, laundry, kitchen, playroom
• Computers and internet access to look for employment
• An address to receive mail and meet job application requirements
• Privacy to work with case management staff to overcome barriers

The Day Center was provided through the generosity of the Salvation Army and is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Our staff includes an Executive Director, and one caseworkerdedicated to helping families solve core issues that created the homelessness in the first place, and connect them with existing county resources as needed.

The Goal—A Permanent Solution
Our goal is to create a custom plan that leads to permanent shelter for our “guests” as soon as possible. In most cases, families “graduate” from the program in 8-12 weeks. The quicker we can help guest families return to stable independent living, the more families we can help. The more church networks we can create, the more we can serve as well. There are more than 350 congregations in Anoka County.