Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Family Homelessness And Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Family Promise reports surge in family homelessness; plans 6-family Promise Center, seeks funding
Summary
Family Promise of Gainesville said 150 families sought help in the last quarter, the nonprofit purchased and is rehabbing a former interfaith building to create a six-family Promise Center, and requested partnerships and funding to meet growing need.
Jeanette, executive director of Family Promise of Gainesville, told the General Policy Committee that rental cost increases and limited shelter beds have driven a growing number of families seeking help.
Family Promise, Jeanette said, has served the Gainesville area for 25 years and has helped more than 1,000 families; it is focused on families with at least one child under age 18. “This quarter, from January to now, we’ve had over 150 families reach out to us for help, which includes more than 300 children,” she said.
Jeanette described a range of programs — shelter rotation through churches, prevention, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing — and said many families who contact the program are “hidden homeless” (doubled up or motel-housed) and therefore do not meet the federal “literally homeless” definition that triggers some HUD funding streams. She said Family Promise helped 32 families this quarter through shelter, prevention or other programs and that more private funding is needed to serve those who don’t qualify for federal assistance.
The agency is rehabbing a purchased property (the former CDS/Interfaith building) to open a dedicated family shelter, the Promise Center, that will initially house up to six families; Jeanette said roughly $120,000 more was needed to complete flooring and convert rooms, and staff had already spent funds on a $50,000 HVAC replacement and roof repairs. She said the Promise Center aims to open in August.
Commissioners and staff discussed coordination with housing partners, city and county funding sources (Community Development Block Grant funds were cited as an existing source used for shelter operations) and possible ways to relieve barriers such as landlords’ income requirements, eviction histories and high move-in costs.
Jeanette gave an example estimate that rapid rehousing support for a two-bedroom unit including rental subsidy and utilities can cost roughly $2,000–$2,500 per month depending on unit size and utility bills. Commissioners raised options including partnerships, zoning or building-code changes to increase supply of family-sized units, and possible funding or staffing to help match available rental units to clients.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Family Promise for its long-term work and discussed following up on funding sources and potential interagency approaches to match families with housing.
