Jun 286 min read

FP FIVE: 4TH OF JULY COOKOUT

The Family Promise Five is a weekly update that focuses on the FIVE topics, issues, events, volunteer opportunities or needs of Family Promise Waukesha County. This communication will update, inform and advocate for families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Here is the Family Promise Five for June 28, 2024.

Our mission is to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.

The Family Promise Five for June 28 are:

GRANTS PASS V JOHNSON
4TH OF JULY FAMILY COOKOUT
YOGA ON THE GREEN- TOMORROW
WHAT SHELTER SHOULD LOOK LIKE
JOIN OUR TEAM

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

— The Declaration of Independence, 1776

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Family Promise of Waukesha County offices will be closed on July 4 and 5.

The FP Five will return on July 19.

POLL OF THE WEEK

Is housing is a right or a privilege?

1. GRANTS PASS V JOHNSON

Changes to our staff are occurring as we prepare for the Shelter Diversion Program

Community

Today the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Grants Pass v Johnson that individuals experiencing homelessness can be fined or arrested for sleeping outside even if there is not enough shelter space available. This is a sad day for our community and all of us who know people who are experiencing homelessness. Providing a community response to homelessness means that we strive to engage the community to raise the dignity of every human being. This ruling contributes to the dehumanizing, and stigmatizing of those experiencing homelessness.

Arresting people or fining them for experiencing homelessness is not a solution to homelessness. It is our sincere hope that municipalities in Waukesha County will refrain from enacting ordinances that will be detrimental to the most vulnerable in our community. Further we hope that you will join us in in promoting solutions to homelessness which includes expanding the availability of affordable housing, encourages landlords to accept housing vouchers, provides significant resources to for mental health and addiction issues, develops jobs that pay a livable wage and addressing not in my backyard attitudes.

"Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use as little as a blanket to keep warm or a rolled-up shirt as a pillow. For people with no access to shelter, that punishes them for being homeless. That is unconscionable and unconstitutional. Punishing people for their status is 'cruel and unusual' under the Eighth Amendment."

-dissenting opinion Justice Sotomayor

READ THE OPINION

The vote was 6-3.

Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion. Justice Thomas wrote a concurring opinion.

Justice Sotomayor provided the dissenting opinion.

POLL OF THE WEEK

Is housing a right or a privilege

0%A right
0%A privilege

2. FOURTH OF JULY COOKOUT

Could you provide food for a cookout for the families in the Apartment Shelter?

Apartment Shelter Program

On Wednesday, July 3 the FP Staff is hosting a 4th of July Cookout for the families in the Apartment Shelter Program. This is part of our Wednesday night family dinners. We do not have a group signed up to volunteer but we know there are people who will want to help provide food.

To sign up please click the button below for the sign up genius. We ask volunteers to commit by the end of the day Monday July 1. Please drop off your food donation by the end of the day July 2 or make other arrangements with Maria.

DONATE FOOD FOR THE COOKOUT

3. YOGA ON THE GREEN- TOMORROW

Join us fot Yoga on the Green at the Oconomowoc Community Center

Community

You are invited to participate in Yoga on the Green on Saturday June 29 at 8am. Yoga on the Green is hosted by Abundant Joy Yoga. It is a weekly yoga class held Saturdays from 8- 9am at the Oconomowoc Community Center (220 W. Wisconsin Ave.) The class promotes physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. On June 29, Family Promise of Waukesha County will be the recipient of any donations made during this yoga class. We hope for a great turnout and encourage you to take this opportunity to be outside on a gorgeous day by a beautiful lake while taking a moment to slow down to center, focus, relax and heal.

4. WHAT SHELTER SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Opinion piece from author Matthew Desmond

Accompaniment

Matthew Desmond, the author of the book Evicted and Poverty, By America visited Water Street Mission Shelter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He came away moved and convinced that this is how shelter should be: "treating people in their full humanity" which means "looking past their hardships, past their addictions, past their homelessness to see people’s promise, to see people’s beauty. And wouldn’t it be amazing if that was the norm instead of the exception.”

In this opinion piece Desmond interviews a resident of the shelter. You can listen to or read a transcript of the interview.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/26/opinion/homeless-shelters-solution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k0.kGL6.vgiarXn-ON-s&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

He ends his article with, "When it comes to abolishing poverty or solving the homelessness crisis, America’s problem has never been a lack of resources. Our problem has been a lack of moral clarity, moral urgency. Some might call it a lack of heart. But at Water Street, people experiencing homelessness are not just provided for. They’re also listened to. They’re believed in. Some might call that love.

When I left Water Street, I just couldn’t help feeling how much of a contrast it was to all these other places poor people find themselves. You know, eviction court, parole office, even other homeless shelters often treat people experiencing hardship as numbers, as cases, as burdens. And here’s a place that is treating people in their full humanity. It’s looking past their hardships, past their addictions, past their homelessness to see people’s promise, to see people’s beauty. And wouldn’t it be amazing if that was the norm instead of the exception."

5. JOIN OUR TEAM

Now hiring a Family Advocate to work with the Family Homelessness Prevention Program

Staff

Family Promise of Waukesha County is seeking a Family Advocate for the Family Homelessness Prevention Program. Please share the job description and announcement with your network!

The Family Advocate is responsible for supporting, assisting and advocating for families to achieve housing independence and self- sufficiency by helping them to identify and address issues that impact their economic, physical, and emotional well-being. Using a trauma informed and client centered approach, the Family Advocate will facilitate goal setting, connect clients to appropriate resources, and support them to navigate a path to independence. The Family Advocate will work in a team setting focused on preventing, diverting or sheltering families with minor children who are experiencing homelessness.

Visit our careers page for the full job description

Five Plus

FP MERCH

The Family Promise Merch store closes on June 30. Order your FP spirit wear today!

Click image to go to the online store.

Items will be shipped about 3 weeks after the online store closes. You can have your items delivered to your home for the cost of shipping or pick them up at the Day Center 139 E North Street Waukesha for no cost.

GOLF GRATITUDE

Over the next few weeks we will thank all of our golf outing sponsors. Please use their services and let them know you appreciate their support of families experiencing homelessness.

PAR SPONSORS

Thank you to all of these birdie level sponsors of the Golf Outing. Your generosity will change the lives of families experiencing homelessness! Please use the services of these companies who care about families experiencing homelessness in Waukesha County and let them know you appreciate their support!