Family Promise Metrowest 2011 Annual Report

FAMIY PROMISE METROWEST
Mission Statement: Family Promise Metrowest is a cooperative, interfaith partnership offering hope to homeless families
with children through safe transitional shelter, meals, and supportive case management as they seek permanent housing.
2011 Network
Congregations
Day Center
First Baptist Church, Natick
Host Congregations
Christ Lutheran Church, Natick
Christ the King Lutheran Church, Holliston
Congregation Or Atid/Peace Lutheran
Church, Wayland
Crossroads Community Church,
Framingham
The Dover Church
Federated Church of Ashland
First Congregational Church, Natick
First Parish in Framingham
First Parish in Wayland
Fisk United Methodist Church, Natick
Pilgrim Church, Sherborn
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Natick
Unitarian Universalist Society of
Wellesley Hills
Unitarian Universalist Area Church,
Sherborn
Wellesley Congregational Church
Wellesley Hills Congregational Church
Support Congregations
The Charles River Vineyard, South Natick
Christ Church, United Methodist of
Wellesley
Eliot Church, Natick
First Baptist Church, Framingham
First Congregational Church, Holliston
Fisk United Methodist Church, Natick
Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Wellesley
Memorial Congregational Church,
Sudbury
Most Precious Blood Church, Dover
Needham Congregational Church
Newton Highlands Congregational
Church
Parish of The Good Shepherd, Wayland
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church,
Framingham
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Wellesley
St. John Lutheran Church, Sudbury
St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Holliston
St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Sherborn
Sha’arei Shalom, Ashland
Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley
Temple Beth Shalom, Needham
Temple Beth Torah, Holliston
Temple Shir Tikvah, Wayland
* Fisk United Methodist, Congregation
serves as both a support and a
host congregation.
Chair Chat – A note from our board chair
Hello friends, By working together, we have successfully offered another year of service to homeless
families. Together in service, we have fostered fellowship and strengthened our communities.
Knowing the importance of employment and the ability to earn a living income, we extended our
childcare services this year allowing guest parents to work, look for work and complete education
and skill development courses. Our service is making a difference. We could literally not do this
important work without you. Thank you for everything you do!
We made an important decision this year to change our name from the Metrowest Interfaith
Hospitality Network to Family Promise Metrowest. This decision was not taken lightly as the word
“Interfaith” is a witness to our ministry and central to the integrity of our mission. Family Promise
Metrowest is not a departure from this position as the new name continues to reflect our deep
commitment to families and the promise we make to serve others. We believe the name is easier
to remember and also connects us with the advocacy of the national parent organization, Family
Promise. We are one of 171 affiliates across the country and most have taken the name. Our new
name also reflects a broadening of our scope from temporary shelter and hospitality to mentoring,
job and life skills development and future transitional housing options.
The Family Promise Metrowest Board of Directors, staff and selected volunteers have now started
working on our initial Strategic Plan. The primary goal of this work is to set the roadmap for the next
3 – 5 years. A recent homelessness forum reinforced the value of permanent housing as the basis
for family stability and economic development. I am confident that our plan will
address this basic need and help us move families from homelessness to permanent homes.
Thank you again for sharing your talents and for your generosity. We look forward to your
support as we communicate and execute the plan.
Director’s Letter
Sincerely, Mike Donoghue, Board Chair
“How can we better serve our families?” It is the gathering of information for the Annual Report that
demands answers to that question. As we reflect on the previous year, we look more purposefully at
the needs of those we are serving, our accomplishments and the areas in need of improvement.
The fall of 2011 ushered in the beginning of our fourth year of service. Over the first three years, we
built a strong foundation and we expanded on that foundation in many ways throughout the year.
Below are some highlights:
• Established a child care fund for our guests
• Increased our space at the day center for our families
• Implemented a new database to accommodate our increasing needs
• Increased the number of our network congregations, volunteers and donors
• Host congregations overcame the hurdles imposed by new state regulations
• Hired a Community Development Coordinator to help increase awareness
of our program in the community
In 2011, we also began the design of our new website and the discussion regarding a name change
for our Organization, both of which are now fully implemented. As a result of these accomplishments,
Family Promise Metrowest is poised to increase its ability to meet the needs of those we
currently serve as well as the potential to expand that assistance to others in need in our community.
What are the needs? We found the biggest barrier to our families’ success was the lack of education
and employable skills. The second most common barrier was the lack of affordable housing,
which is why we see a growing number of our families moving in with a friend or extended family
rather than “independent housing”. In addition, affordable child care continues to be a challenge
for our guests. I believe in the next 3 to 5 years, it is possible and necessary for Family Promise
Metrowest to expand its services to include increased education, employment, child care and
housing opportunities for families in need. The how and when are yet to be determined.
The why is evident in the face of every child who comes through our door.
With Much Appreciation, Beth Cooper, Director
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