Road to Independence Program
Our rotational shelter program and warm hospitality is the foundation of the Family Promise model.
Every child deserves a home!
We empower homeless families in transitioning to sustainable independence.
Family Promise of South Palm Beach County provides basic human services to the most vulnerable in our community: shelter/housing, food, human interaction, case management, and mental health counseling. We are able to achieve a consistent 90% success rate through our professional staff and our dedicated network of volunteers from local multifaith congregations.
HOW IT WORKS
Families looking to enter our Road to Independence Program must meet a few requirements and follow our entrance process.The first step is to complete an intake by calling our office. After the intake has been reviewed and approved by the Program Director, each family member 18 years or older must complete a biopsychosocial with one of our counselors. Once the family has been approved by our Executive Director, the Families must provide a background check and a negative COVID test for entry. Our program is not an immediate shelter and can take between 7 to 14 days before we can provide shelter. During the program, families are provided shelter, meals, extensive case management, and mental health counseling. It takes between 60 to 90 days to graduate from our program, after which they move into their new home as they’ve achieved sustainable independence. They will be encouraged to continue weekly counseling as they work through the trauma of experiencing homelessness.
CARE
Family Promise of South Palm Beach County has developed an approach called CARE which is implemented with every family.
Clinical- Family members participate in weekly mental health counseling to address trauma as well as learn the coping strategies needed to be self-sufficient.
Assessment- Guests in our program are provided mental health assessments to determine current mental health needs.
Referrals- Guests meet with their case manager weekly to review goals and are provided community referrals to facilitate a systems approach to care.
Evaluation- Guests are evaluated on a bi-weekly basis to determine progress with goals and current needs.
Section 8 Housing Program
As a result of the COVID pandemic, HUD has released emergency vouchers for those experiencing homelessness as result of COVID. Family Promise of South Palm Beach County was contacted in 2021 by Delray Beach Housing Authority (DBHA) as well as West Palm Beach Housing Authority (WPBHA) when these vouchers were released and was appointed 82 vouchers to use for families experiencing homelessness. As a result, we transformed our model once again to accommodate these new needs. Over the course of 2 months, we interviewed and processed 82 families. These families entered our program and were provided assistance with filling out applications, gathering documents, toiletries, and food. We were able to get 71 vouchers approved by the housing authorities and began home hunting.
Since we have started assisting these families, we have encountered many challenges, due to the lack of affordable housing in Palm Beach County, we have worked around the clock to make miracles happen. We have successfully been able to house 48 family units since July 2021. Once our families were housed, we started with weekly Case Management and gathering all the essentials to make their new houses or apartments into homes. We have received many donations from the community for furniture, beds, food, and household essentials for these families.
These families will continue to receive Case Management and resources from Family Promise for a year after they have received their voucher.