Promise to the homeless

What started as an idea a couple years ago is quickly turning into a reality for some Odessa residents.

Randy McGuire said he wanted to get involved with Family Promise since he heard about the program from the Odessa Ministerial Alliance. The interfaith program has 124 affiliates in 39 states.

Family Promise allows homeless families with children to stay at participating churches for a week at a time. During the day, they’re taken to a day center where they look for employment opportunities.

McGuire, a teacher at Austin Montessori Elementary, said working with children helped inspire him to get involved.

“A lot of the people involved in this are in education,” he said. “We see a lot of the need for assistance for homeless families with children.”

A street count, conducted in January by Odessa LINKS, found 220 people in emergency shelters, on the streets and in abandoned buildings. That was up from 119 a year earlier.

Larry Myers, an adult probation officer and board member with Family Promise of Odessa, said he’s learned from his job that people are looking to volunteer.

“I see a lot of the crime,” he said. “A lot of the people who have to do community service continue to do so after their release.”

According to Family Promise literature, 13 congregations are the “magic number” to set up a network of churches to rotate hosting homeless families. McGuire said he has eight lined up so far, with interest from several others.

The churches would host 14 people at a time, which McGuire said could bring in 200 to 300 people a year. Each church would have two to four volunteers stay at the church each night.

Statistically, within two years, 80 percent of the people in the program are employed and have a place to live, Myers said. The average turnaround is 38 days. While the turnaround could take longer in Odessa because of a housing shortage, he’s hoping for success.

Shanna McGill, another board member said, unlike some charities, it would be easy to see what’s going on with Family Promise.

“Sometimes, as volunteers, we don’t see the end result,” she said. “Here we can go to the church and see the results.”

The Rev. Nora Fitch of First Presbyterian Church, said she first got involved with Family Promise when she was in the Houston area.

“I think it’s a great program,” she said. “It’s great for them, and it was rewarding for us as well.”

When Fitch first became involved with Family Promise, she said some in her congregation had concerns. But they were quickly assured of the program’s advantages.

“The screening is very comforting,” she said. “People have to agree to abide by the program.”

McGuire estimates it will take $80,000 to start the program. It will have to hire a director, who would be its only paid position.

Other needs include a location for the day center, a van to transport visitors from churches to the day center and a trailer, Myers said.

McGuire’s goal is to have the service up and running by Sept. 1, 2008.

For now, Myers said the biggest challenge is finding churches to participate.

“Churches are at different points in their lives,” he said, “and sometimes they have to work through it.”