In 2017, we wrote this list of dreams for our program and community. Please join us in celebrating how far we have come in 2018, and in continuing to dream new things for 2019.
We have a dream…
As we look to the future, we believe it’s important to dream.
We have a dream that every child in our community would have a home.
We have a dream of more families gaining housing and a safe, stable environment.
We dream that every person in our community is made aware of the issue of family homelessness and how they could use their time, talent, or treasure to participate in the solution. What if classrooms, youth groups, civic organizations, businesses, professionals of all kinds, stay-at-home-parents, teachers, retired people, children, and students all knew how they could play a part?
We have a dream of partnering with even more service providers for referrals and wrap-around case management that focuses on a family’s unique strengths and goals. What if we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with all of the service providers in Greater Wichita to help meet the needs of families?
We have a dream of expanding our services
to help meet the great need of temporary lodging and support services for homeless families in our community. We have a dream of a second rotation of churches so that we could serve twice as many families in our rotation program. What if we could serve more families in more ways, even outside-of-the-box ways?
We have a dream of more churches, synagogues, and mosques in our community opening their doors as places of temporary sanctuary for families working toward a home of their own. What if more congregations opened their hearts and hands and offered space in their facilities to host just four families every evening for one week, four times a year? What if congregations from every faith and tradition, from every side of town and suburb, no matter the demographic or the size of the congregation, their building, or their budget, participated in helping homeless families get back on their feet? We dream that faith communities with vast differences would work side-by-side, united in our love and care for families in need.
We have a dream of adding more compassionate volunteers and staff
helping to give families a hand up. What if more people volunteered their time to provide essential support to guest families by working at our day house or driving our vans? We dream of more than 1,000 volunteers, guided by skilled and passionate staff, each doing his or her part to make a huge difference in the lives of children and families in a homeless crisis.
We dream of increased funding that would help more families gain sustainable housing and independence. What if we had the funds to help address the needs of families on the brink of homelessness to stay housed? We dream of helping more families with case management, to help them set goals and gain the skills they need to steward their families and provide stability for their children. We dream of having the funds to offer more families savings matches to help them get into permanent housing and also to encourage them to be ready for emergencies in the future.
We have a dream that families would be free from exploitation of any kind, paid fair wages, and safe. What if more businesses and entrepreneurs in Wichita created entry-level jobs that paid a living wage? We dream that all parents would have access to affordable childcare. What if every family we served went on not only to get into housing, but into a better job, with new opportunities, to further their education, or to start their own business? We dream of helping families not just get out of homelessness, but out of poverty.
We have a dream of more day center space. Space for more families to take showers and do their laundry. Space for more families to work on resumes and job readiness skills, space for more families to use computers for job searches and housing searches, and more space for them to care for their preschool children during the day. We dream of more space to store donations of furniture and household items to help families once they get into permanent housing.
We have a dream of more transitional housing units. We dream of giving more of our rotation program graduates the opportunity to move into transitional housing while they continue to save, work on their budgeting skills, and build good rental history. What if all of our graduate families could pay just 30% of their income in a transitional home, for six-months, a year, or two years, while staying connected to Family Promise through case management and life skills classes?
We have a dream of more vehicles. We dream of more 15 passenger vans to be able to transport more families to job interviews, work, and to and from the day center and host congregations while they work hard to save money. We have a dream of more family-sized vehicles that can be earned by families in the program in order to regain independence. What if every graduate family had a drivers’ license and a vehicle to get to work, school, and day care? We dream of a fully functioning vehicle donation program, run by volunteers who offer their support and skills in vehicle donation and maintenance.
We have a dream that families in a homeless circumstance would achieve sustainable independence they created and are proud of.
We dream of lots of program graduates mentoring other families. What if every graduate family had the opportunity to give back? What if we had more graduate volunteers and had graduates on our board and staff?
We have a dream of helping more families dream their own dreams.
Every child deserves a home and the opportunity to dream.
Family Promise of Greater Wichita unites hearts and hands to provide compassionate hospitality and empower homeless families with children to achieve sustainable independence. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
