Oct 6, 20224 min read

FRIDAY FIVE : NEW APARTMENT SHELTER

This blog provides the top 5 highlights or updates about Family Promise of Waukesha County for Friday, October 7, 2022.

Our mission is to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence

through a community-based response.

The stories you can read this week are:

WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE DROP OFF
FAMILY PROMISE WEEK
SHELTER EXPANSION
STRATEGIES TO END HOMELESSNESS
ROAD CONSTRUCTION

POLL OF THE WEEK

How will you participate in Family Promise Week?

HAPPY HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.

https://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/?

1. WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE DROP OFF

Any of the Winter Clothing items can be dropped off at Emmanuel United Church of Christ, 36821 Sunset Dr, Oconomowoc, WI 53066, this Saturday October 8 between 8:30-10:30 am.

A second option is to drop items off at the Day Center 139 E North Street Waukesha WI 53188 on Saturday, October 15 from 9am- Noon.

There are still a few items that have not been claimed. You can sign up here:

2. FAMILY PROMISE WEEK

This October 16–22, we’re celebrating Family Promise Week in hundreds of wherever there’s a Family Promise Affiliate, which is 100s of communities across the country. Since 1988, more than one million children and parents have turned to Family Promise for assistance with homelessness prevention, shelter and housing, and other supports, and the need for our services continues to grow. We invite you to join us in celebrating the success of Family Promise and raising awareness about the needs of families who are experiencing homelessness.

Here are ways Family Promise in Waukesha County is celebrating Family Promise Week!

DIALOGUE OF HOPE: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 6:30 PM

You are invited to a Dialogue of Hope with Michelle, a former guest of Family Promise. Michelle stayed in the shelter in fall of 2018. Four years later she owns her own home. During this evening you will be able to hear her story and ask her questions. We will also dialogue about the current housing market and how it is impacting families experiencing homelessness today.

Registration is necessary. See details and register below:

DIALOGUE OF HOPE

NIGHT WITHOUT A BED

Night Without a Bed is Family Promise’s annual social media challenge to raise awareness about family homelessness.

Families with children make up 35 percent of the nation’s homeless population. This year, the U.S. housing crisis has grown worse as inflation has risen, and a growing number of families are unable to find available and affordable housing.

We ask for registration so we know who is joining us for this event.

NIGHT WITHOUT A BED

POLL OF THE WEEK

How will you celebrate Family Promise Week?

Attend the discussion with Michelle about her experience
Participate in a Night Without a Bed
Post a story on social media about why I believe in FP
Raise awareness of homelessness by posting stats

3. NEW APARTMENT SHELTER UNITS

We are excited to announce that our Apartment Shelter Program is growing. Family Promise of Waukesha County will be adding an additional shelter at the end of the month and hopefully a sixth unit before the end of the year depending upon availability. The reason for adding these two additional units is that they will allow us to respond to the growing need. Plus, it will give us the flexibility to use an apartment or two as transitional housing if a longer stay would best serve that particular family.

With a limited supply of affordable housing, the two biggest issues we face are:

the number of families we have not been able to help, and
when a family is in shelter, the difficulty of finding permanent housing that is both available and affordable.

We believe this will allow us to better serve families experiencing homelessness and those at risk of experiencing homelessness.

4. STRATEGIES TO END HOMELESSNESS

This past week, SchoolHouse Connection released its recommendations for developing a strategy to prevent and end homelessness. This is an organization focused on the care and education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. They advocate for these children and youth, and provide assistance to childhood programs, schools, institutions of higher education, service providers, families, and youth.

Citing a number of studies that show a significant number of adults first experienced homelessness as a child, they provide a list of recommendations, which includes:

improving and developing stronger early education strategies,
increasing the availability of affordable housing,
changing the invisible nature of homelessness,
updating the metrics used by the federal government to adequately measure those who are experiencing homelessness,
addressing racial inequality,
addressing issues created by Covid-19

For those of us working to support those experiencing homelessness, their report provides a comprehensive set of recommendations to consider.

5. ROAD CONSTRUCTION

There has been significant work done on both North Street and St Paul Avenue this past week, which has made it challenging to get to the Day Center.

It appears as though the work may be nearing completion; however, you can check the City of Waukesha website for construction update before dropping by.

CASE MANAGER

We continue to seek a case manager. View and share the job description here:

CASE MANAGER

PLEASE UPDATE OUR EMAIL ADDRESSES

Have you updated your contacts to reflect the new email addresses for the Family Promise staff? Please make sure that you use the following email addresses to contact our staff: