Did you know that Gwinnett County has no homeless shelters? I just found that out today. I had no idea! Yet, in Gwinnett County in 2006, there were 20,485 evictions and 6,130 foreclosures. At the average family size of 2.5 that means that approximately 66,537 family members lost housing in 2006.
The average age of a homeless person in the United States is 9, and during the 2005-06 school year, Gwinnett County Schools found accommodations for over 3,000 students.
I heard today about a program called Family Promise. Westminster Presbyterian Church participates in it. Family Promise sponsors 4 families at a time. The churches in the network take turns giving the families housing. It's not just a Presbyterian charity, though. It's many different churches, people of all faiths helping. The average time spent with each family is 90 days. By the "graduation" from the program, the family will have found employment and permanent housing. The whole idea behind the program is to work on the underlying problems that cause homelessness.
To learn more about the Family Promise program, click here . There are 39 networks of Family Promise, and we have one in Gwinnett.
Friday, April 18, 2008
What's being done about homelessness?
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family promise,
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