Family Promise of Greater Wichita is excited to announce that Jaraya Reynolds has joined the FPGW Staff Team as a Family Advocate with the Emergency Services program!
Jaraya, who has worked in the social services field for six years, brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience in the homeless services area. She has already proven to be a wealth of understanding and hard work on behalf of families in crisis and at risk of homelessness and has quickly established herself as a meaningful part of the Family Promise team.
Ms. Reynolds, who is currently working on her Bachelors of Social Work from Wichita State, is passionate about supporting people in our community. While previously working as a family support worker, she says that things “just clicked.”
“There is something out there bigger than me. God put me on earth to help people.”
While she has seen the toll that social service work can have on an individual who cares deeply for people, she loves working in roles that connect people in need with tangible resources and housing options.
Jaraya connects with and loves the values of Family Promise. In her previous role at United Way of the Plains, she would often find herself in meetings with the FPGW team. She remembers one meeting specifically where she had to give a speech to the local Continuum of Care group.
During her talk, she stated that, after individuals she was working with were housed, they changed from “her clients” to “her neighbors.” She remembered someone in the room giving an encouraging gasp at that comment and, after the meeting, quickly found out that it was FPGW Executive Director Dawn Epp, who stopped her and thanked her for that statement.
Jaraya looks forward to serving with the Family Promise team and continuing to work with community partners to amplify her efforts here. She sees the atmosphere at Family Promise as one that lends itself to the success of families seeking support.
“The environment is “just different.” This is like a family. We’re all here to help the same people and have the same goal, not just writing a check and sending them on their way. I am looking forward to the impact I can give someone and letting them know that things like this happen and you’re with an organization that wants to see you succeed.”
“I still want to pinch myself that Jaraya is on our team. Since we worked closely with her at United Way, we already knew that she was knowledgeable in the field and we could also sense that she held the same core values that we hold dearly. This has proven true and she has jumped right in!” – FPGW Executive Director, Dawn Epp
When not working hard for Family Promise families, Jaraya loves spending time with her partner, her “bonus kid,” and her pets. A graduate of Heights High School and a student at WSU, she loves Wichita and spending time at GROW and eating Korean BBQ.
Welcome to Family Promise, Jaraya! Our community is better because of you!
