On a typical night, 43 congregations shares part in providing shelter or housing assistance for about 155 of our neighbors in need. The work we do through Family Promise/Interfaith Hospitality Network has a big footprint in our community. Our community is better because of our work, but it also needs our help.
Like all of you, we’re monitoring the current health crisis. This includes working with our county health department, the CDC and HUD for best practices to protect volunteers, staff, and the families we serve. We even have a local physician advising us through this process and is available to quickly answer any questions.
Now, more than ever, our community needs our help. I’d like to highlight a few points as we work through this challenging time:
Homelessness and housing instability will continue to increase – our services will continue to be a critical need. We’re reaching out to local and national representatives to see if there are legislative ways to keep people out of homelessness through this health crisis.
This crisis is going to hit families hard. We’re expecting to see a loss of wages, jobs, transportation, limited childcare and more. Please help us by advocating for any program that provides these resources in our community.
This is an unprecedented effort, the likes of which I haven’t seen before in my lifetime. We have not been given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of hope. Let’s provide hope during this time. Together, we can meet this challenge as a community.
Warmly,
T.J. Putman
Executive Director
P.S. If you’d like to help, we’re going to need food, supplies, and funding for housing assistance. You can find ways to engage at www.familypromisemwv.org/volunteer