Welcome to Family Promise of Athens (formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network)
Family Promise of Athens, Inc. (formerly the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, Inc.) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide immediate shelter and guidance to families with children who are experiencing the crisis of homelessness. Once accepted into our program, FPA provides food, shelter, daycare, transportation, case management, and other resources each family may need. FPA helps to create structure out of chaos by implementing a goal-oriented plan so that those desperately in need can focus beyond daily survival to achieve a life of sustainable independence. We provide shelter through a coalition of congregations through our Interfaith Hospitality Network. Congregational facilities are transformed into comfortable living spaces for up to three families at a time. The Host Congregations provide volunteers to assist with meal preparation, staffing the family room, providing hospitality in the evenings, driving the FPA van to transport our guest families, and even spending the night. FPA is part of the national Family Promise network that includes more than 200 Affiliates in 43 states, and has served over a half million guests since its inception in the 1980's. Family Promise of Athens was born in 2004 as the 100th Affiliate.
Family Promise Week is Here!
Beginning October 18, Family Promise of Athens (formally know at Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens) will participate in Family Promise’s national Family Promise Week, a weeklong event that seeks to raise awareness for the fight against family homelessness and the challenges low-income families are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit is one of 200 Family Promise Affiliates nationwide.
Kelly Girtz, Mayor of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, has proclaimed the week of October 18 as Family Promise Week. Mayor Girtz urges all citizens to recognize and raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in our community. Davin Welter, Executive Director of Family Promise of Athens, thanks all volunteers and donors who help FPA carry out its mission of preventing families from becoming homeless, sheltering those in crisis, and stabilizing families so they are no longer at risk.
Each year in America, 2.5 million children experience homelessness. One in sixteen American children will experience homelessness before they reach the first grade. These children are three times more likely to be placed in special education programs, eight to nine times more likely to repeat a grade, and seven times more likely than their peers to commit suicide. The COVID-19 crisis has increased economic instability, creating an even greater risk of homelessness for American families.
Those who wish to support these efforts can donate to Family Promise of Athens at FPGives.org. A generous anonymous donor will match all gifts during this week. If we can raise $25,000, the donor will match that amount with a $25,000 gift.
How can you make a difference? See below!
Kelly Girtz, Mayor of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, has proclaimed the week of October 18 as Family Promise Week. Mayor Girtz urges all citizens to recognize and raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in our community. Davin Welter, Executive Director of Family Promise of Athens, thanks all volunteers and donors who help FPA carry out its mission of preventing families from becoming homeless, sheltering those in crisis, and stabilizing families so they are no longer at risk.
Each year in America, 2.5 million children experience homelessness. One in sixteen American children will experience homelessness before they reach the first grade. These children are three times more likely to be placed in special education programs, eight to nine times more likely to repeat a grade, and seven times more likely than their peers to commit suicide. The COVID-19 crisis has increased economic instability, creating an even greater risk of homelessness for American families.
Those who wish to support these efforts can donate to Family Promise of Athens at FPGives.org. A generous anonymous donor will match all gifts during this week. If we can raise $25,000, the donor will match that amount with a $25,000 gift.
How can you make a difference? See below!
Make a difference by making a gift
You can make a secure contribution through our webpage at http://www.ihnathens.org/donate-now.html or by mailing a check to FPA, PO Box 581, Athens, GA 30603..
Make a difference by volunteering
We are grateful to all of our volunteers!! To volunteer, please contact Nathan Byrd at: assist.ihnathens@gmail.com
Make a difference by sharing our message on social media
Visit our Facebook page and Instagram account and share it with your networks. Our Facebook page is located at: http://facebook.com/familypromiseofathens. Our Instagram account can be found here: http://instagram.com/familypromiseathens
Family Promise of Athens is hiring a Homeless Prevention Coordinator
Hours: 30 hours/week, Friday – Monday
Salary: $20,000
Start date: As soon as possible
Position description
The part-time social worker manages the new Family Promise of Athens homeless prevention program and grants related to the prevention program in conjunction with the Service Director and Executive Director. They will create and manage MOUs for the organizations with which we will partner. These activities would be in accordance with the Help Us Move In (HUMI) grant requirements as well as the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) grant requirements. Any other grants that are specifically for the homeless prevention program will also be included. The tasks include arranging payments to landlords and utility companies in conjunction with our partner, the Ark, as well as our Executive Director. The FPA Homeless Prevention Coordinator will work very closely with the Ark and will assist the Ark by understanding and participating in their process while learning from their extensive experience in this type of work. It is important to maintain accurate records and receipts and to help with reporting requirements of all funding agencies. This position will include participation in the HUMI grant work group and completion of the HUMI grant workbook by each monthly deadline. The position will also explore other partnerships with several groups including congregations that provide homeless prevention assistance, the Clarke County School District and their neighborhood leaders. We would also like this position to begin to build relationships with landlords to assist in preventing evictions and in creating housing opportunities for our guests in the congregation rotation.
This position will also assist the Service Director in building relationships with our guests and will assist in case management with all families in our program. The person in this position will serve as a weekend social worker to provide a consistent staff presence over the weekend for our Interfaith Hospitality Network shelter program. This will include but not be limited to covering weekend shifts at the static site or the Family Promise of Athens office and assisting guests and volunteers with questions and tasks. The weekend social worker will also have the on-call phone during some weekends for volunteer and guest emergencies.
To this regard, the following duties and skills are required:
Collaborate with clients to plan, implement, monitor, and amend individualized services that promote clients’ strengths, advance clients’ well-being, and help clients achieve their goals
Advocate for the rights, decisions, strengths, and needs of clients and shall promote clients’ access to resources, supports, and services
Ensure low-barrier access to homeless services and housing whenever possible
Recognize and honor client dignity, self-determination, and choice when making collaborative service and housing decisions
Exercise strong judgment in interactions with clients, volunteers, other staff, and community service organizations while finding creative solutions to clients’ problems
Ability to determine if clients are not sufficiently aggressive about pursuing housing and employment and demonstrates an ability and willingness to motivate them to improve
Monitor and modify interventions, as needed, to respond to individual, family, organizational, community, and policy challenges
This position has flexibility for some remote work.
Training and experience in Social Work is preferred.
Application Procedures: Please submit a resume, cover letter, and any samples of relevant work products demonstrating how your traits, expertise, experience, and skills match the job responsibilities and qualifications. Please submit application materials electronically to director@ihnathens.org.
Our Non‐Discrimination Policy: Family Promise of Athens is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, religion, color, political affiliation, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or age.
Salary: $20,000
Start date: As soon as possible
Position description
The part-time social worker manages the new Family Promise of Athens homeless prevention program and grants related to the prevention program in conjunction with the Service Director and Executive Director. They will create and manage MOUs for the organizations with which we will partner. These activities would be in accordance with the Help Us Move In (HUMI) grant requirements as well as the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) grant requirements. Any other grants that are specifically for the homeless prevention program will also be included. The tasks include arranging payments to landlords and utility companies in conjunction with our partner, the Ark, as well as our Executive Director. The FPA Homeless Prevention Coordinator will work very closely with the Ark and will assist the Ark by understanding and participating in their process while learning from their extensive experience in this type of work. It is important to maintain accurate records and receipts and to help with reporting requirements of all funding agencies. This position will include participation in the HUMI grant work group and completion of the HUMI grant workbook by each monthly deadline. The position will also explore other partnerships with several groups including congregations that provide homeless prevention assistance, the Clarke County School District and their neighborhood leaders. We would also like this position to begin to build relationships with landlords to assist in preventing evictions and in creating housing opportunities for our guests in the congregation rotation.
This position will also assist the Service Director in building relationships with our guests and will assist in case management with all families in our program. The person in this position will serve as a weekend social worker to provide a consistent staff presence over the weekend for our Interfaith Hospitality Network shelter program. This will include but not be limited to covering weekend shifts at the static site or the Family Promise of Athens office and assisting guests and volunteers with questions and tasks. The weekend social worker will also have the on-call phone during some weekends for volunteer and guest emergencies.
To this regard, the following duties and skills are required:
Collaborate with clients to plan, implement, monitor, and amend individualized services that promote clients’ strengths, advance clients’ well-being, and help clients achieve their goals
Advocate for the rights, decisions, strengths, and needs of clients and shall promote clients’ access to resources, supports, and services
Ensure low-barrier access to homeless services and housing whenever possible
Recognize and honor client dignity, self-determination, and choice when making collaborative service and housing decisions
Exercise strong judgment in interactions with clients, volunteers, other staff, and community service organizations while finding creative solutions to clients’ problems
Ability to determine if clients are not sufficiently aggressive about pursuing housing and employment and demonstrates an ability and willingness to motivate them to improve
Monitor and modify interventions, as needed, to respond to individual, family, organizational, community, and policy challenges
This position has flexibility for some remote work.
Training and experience in Social Work is preferred.
Application Procedures: Please submit a resume, cover letter, and any samples of relevant work products demonstrating how your traits, expertise, experience, and skills match the job responsibilities and qualifications. Please submit application materials electronically to director@ihnathens.org.
Our Non‐Discrimination Policy: Family Promise of Athens is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, religion, color, political affiliation, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or age.
COVID-19 changes and information
The office of Family Promise of Athens is closed until further notice. In an effort to assist in preventing the spread of Coronavirus, we have made the decision to stop normal operations and are working from home.
Our program continues to function during the pandemic, with our families staying in "static site" - the facilities of a host congregation for an extended period. Instead of moving each Sunday to a new host congregation, our guests stay in the same facilities for longer periods with host congregations coming to serve in the static site. We have established strict guidelines and procedures to keep all safe during this time. We are still utilizing volunteers to provide food and to provide care to families. We are grateful to all of our volunteers!! To volunteer, please contact Nathan Byrd at: assist.ihnathens@gmail.com
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. You can reach us on the after-hours EMERGENCY telephone number, which is 706.286.6253 or thru email at director@ihnathens.org.
Please be safe and take care during this time.
Thank you,
Davin Welter, Executive Director
Our program continues to function during the pandemic, with our families staying in "static site" - the facilities of a host congregation for an extended period. Instead of moving each Sunday to a new host congregation, our guests stay in the same facilities for longer periods with host congregations coming to serve in the static site. We have established strict guidelines and procedures to keep all safe during this time. We are still utilizing volunteers to provide food and to provide care to families. We are grateful to all of our volunteers!! To volunteer, please contact Nathan Byrd at: assist.ihnathens@gmail.com
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. You can reach us on the after-hours EMERGENCY telephone number, which is 706.286.6253 or thru email at director@ihnathens.org.
Please be safe and take care during this time.
Thank you,
Davin Welter, Executive Director
Make a gift to assist those in need during this difficult time.
Family Promise of Athens is here to help and because of you, we are successful at doing just that. Everyone who is affiliated with Family Promise of Athens has the heart to serve and the desire to help others in the best way that we can. You are heroes of our organization and our community. Without you there are families who would continue to be homeless. There are children who would be missing tremendous love and compassion. Since 2004 and even today as I write, each of you has made a difference.
Today, the work that you started continues. While for most, volunteering with our organization has changed and is very limited. However, you can still assist during this time. Our families are safe and secure in a local hotel with food. Our host and support congregations during this time have been assisting with the unexpected expenses that are coming up. We could use more help and ask for your financial support to help with those additional expenses.
We also know by all predictions from economists and federal homeless officials that there is going to be even more need in the future. Family Promise of Athens wants to assist with that future need and is working on a program to help those who are at risk of becoming homeless. We ask for your generous support to help us help those who are having difficulties meeting rent or paying a utility bill or a new unexpected medical bill. We are looking at a grant that if matched could bring an additional $20,000 to our organization for homeless prevention.
So please, if you are able, contribute to these two opportunities to help those in our community who are in need and those who will be in need.
I'm grateful for each of you. I am grateful for the lives that you live and for your care and compassion. I ask each of you to stay safe and to find the beauty that exists every day even in times of tremendous tragedy. Know that we love each of you.
You can make a secure contribution through our webpage at http://www.ihnathens.org/donate-now.html or by mailing a check to FPA, PO Box 581, Athens, GA 30603..
Today, the work that you started continues. While for most, volunteering with our organization has changed and is very limited. However, you can still assist during this time. Our families are safe and secure in a local hotel with food. Our host and support congregations during this time have been assisting with the unexpected expenses that are coming up. We could use more help and ask for your financial support to help with those additional expenses.
We also know by all predictions from economists and federal homeless officials that there is going to be even more need in the future. Family Promise of Athens wants to assist with that future need and is working on a program to help those who are at risk of becoming homeless. We ask for your generous support to help us help those who are having difficulties meeting rent or paying a utility bill or a new unexpected medical bill. We are looking at a grant that if matched could bring an additional $20,000 to our organization for homeless prevention.
So please, if you are able, contribute to these two opportunities to help those in our community who are in need and those who will be in need.
I'm grateful for each of you. I am grateful for the lives that you live and for your care and compassion. I ask each of you to stay safe and to find the beauty that exists every day even in times of tremendous tragedy. Know that we love each of you.
You can make a secure contribution through our webpage at http://www.ihnathens.org/donate-now.html or by mailing a check to FPA, PO Box 581, Athens, GA 30603..
Make a gift to make a difference in the life of a child!
Family Promise of Athens works with compassionate volunteers to care for children and families who are experiencing homelessness. Here are some examples of giving levels that can make a big difference:
- $125: A utilities deposit to get our clients set up in their new home.
- $250: A security deposit for a new apartment or a window A/C unit.
- $375: A full month of after school care for one child. (We have anywhere from 3 to 10 children staying with us at a time!)
- $500: First month’s rent. Yes! We help pay first month’s rent so that our clients can settle in to their new homes.
- $Give What You Can: Don’t see an amount that fits your budget? Anything you can give helps us help families in need.
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Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens has become Family Promise of Athens |
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We are excited to let you know that Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens has changed its name to Family Promise of Athens. Yes, after fifteen years in Athens our name has changed, but our mission remains the same: mobilizing the Athens community to help families without homes to become self-sufficient.
With tremendous transition and program expansion over the past year, the time was right to embrace the more recognizable Family Promise name, shared with the national office and many of their affiliates across the country. We remain committed to our interfaith alliances and practice of hospitality—the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), our original program uniting diverse faith organizations, volunteers and social services to provide shelter and food, will remain Family Promise of Athens’s core program.
Family Promise of Athens’s program expansion includes a new Day Center, new staff, and intensified case management. New programs have also been developed that provide additional help for families experiencing homelessness to achieve their goal of sustainable independence. These programs include an expanded Extended Network and Transitional Housing.
Since opening our doors in 2004, we have served over 660 individuals, including 198 families with 412 children. Our organization has moved the majority of our families into permanent housing or temporary accommodations with a 75% success rate.
We look forward to continuing and strengthening our relationship with you. In the meantime, we will continue to make a difference—one family at a time.
Bare with us as we adopt the new name. We are in the process of creating a new website which will be ready later this fall and will continue to use this website until that time.
With tremendous transition and program expansion over the past year, the time was right to embrace the more recognizable Family Promise name, shared with the national office and many of their affiliates across the country. We remain committed to our interfaith alliances and practice of hospitality—the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), our original program uniting diverse faith organizations, volunteers and social services to provide shelter and food, will remain Family Promise of Athens’s core program.
Family Promise of Athens’s program expansion includes a new Day Center, new staff, and intensified case management. New programs have also been developed that provide additional help for families experiencing homelessness to achieve their goal of sustainable independence. These programs include an expanded Extended Network and Transitional Housing.
Since opening our doors in 2004, we have served over 660 individuals, including 198 families with 412 children. Our organization has moved the majority of our families into permanent housing or temporary accommodations with a 75% success rate.
We look forward to continuing and strengthening our relationship with you. In the meantime, we will continue to make a difference—one family at a time.
Bare with us as we adopt the new name. We are in the process of creating a new website which will be ready later this fall and will continue to use this website until that time.
Want to know more?
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Thanks to some of the member of the 2019 LEAD Athens class, Family Promise of Athens has a short video introducing our work. We are grateful for their help in getting the mission and vision of our organization out into the Athens community.
Watch the video here |
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Want to volunteer with FPA? Check out our next training opportunities. Click the "join our team" tab then select "volunteer training."
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Family Promise of AthensIn December of 2018 FPA moved our operation across the street to a 2nd floor wing of First Baptist Church. Click HERE to read more about it. We are so grateful for our partnership with the FBCA congregation and staff!
You can find us here: Mailing Address Day Center and Office Location Post Office Box 581 First Baptist Church Athens, GA 30603 355 Pulaski Street Athens, GA 30601 |
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IHN Athens featured on WUGA's Athens News Matters
Alexia Ridley, host of WUGA's Athens News Matters, interviewed Claas Ehlers, CEO of Family Promise, and Davin Welter, IHNA Executive Director, about the mission of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens. Take a listen by clicking the link below.
Watch our video!
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Thanks to Carrie Campbell and Patricia Lee, who are UGA Masters in Public Administration students in Dr. Becky Nesbit's class, IHNA has a new video to recruit new volunteers, congregations, and funders and to inspire current loyal volunteers and funders.
Take a look by clicking this link:youtu.be/yYpwaJOwTL8 You will be moved by the stories told by past guests, current volunteers, board members, and staff. |
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IHNA mentioned in Betsy Butler's sermon at Athens First United Methodist.
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Take a listen to Betsy Butler's sermon from July 24, 2016 at Athens First United Methodist Church. Betsy is the Minister of Missions at AFUMC and in her sermon, she mentions the opportunity to stay close to God by hosting and serving the guests in the Interfaith Hospitality Network. She talks about how the volunteers from the church family offer hope to a hopeless situation. We are grateful for Betsy and to those at Athens FUMC who give help to those families in our community who are in need.
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What Family Promise of Athens Does
Family Promise of Athens is a coalition of Athens Area Churches and Congregations of Faith, referred to as Host Congregations or Support Congregations, that may provide shelter, meals, and support for families experiencing the crisis of homelessness for up to 90 days. Host Congregations, on a rotating basis, provide 3 meals a day to Network Families. Each network family is provided with their own room within the Host facility. Our network of churches provides shelter, meals, and compassionate assistance for up to three families (or maximum of 14 people) in crisis situations. As a group, the families rotate from church to church on a weekly basis. By uniting congregations through our Day Center, and through the support of social service agencies, our program assists these families with finding sustainable housing, job training, employment, and with meeting other various needs.