GREAT FALLS — Since 2015, Family Promise of Great Falls has been dedicated to ending childhood homelessness one family at a time.
On Wednesday, they began moving into a facility that represents another tool in achieving that mission.
With the help of Americorps volunteers and community stakeholders, Family Promise is furnishing Promise Place, a Great Falls duplex that can house up to two families of six.
“We wanted to have a shelter for families because right now we’re housing them in hotels and that’s just not ideal, especially for children,” said Cari Yturri, the director of Family Promise of Great Falls. “We want to have some stability.”
Promise Place will open Monday, February 7th.
Before the pandemic, Family Promised housed families at area churches, rotating on a weekly basis. That model became harder to sustain due to fire codes.
Yturri says the board worked with JK Enterprises to secure a duplex rental for a year.
“The advantage is we can watch how this is working and make some really good data analysis on how we’re helping families before we make a big investment of buying more property,” said Yturri.
Yturri says churches are still involved through financial donations and food preparation for families.
The organization’s hub at Central Christian Church continues to play a key role, offering internet, laundry and showers as well as case management and job application help.
In a press release Family Promise stated that it will also continue to offer services currently offered including: eviction prevention, landlord mediation, emergency sheltering at hotels, emergency food, and shuttle transportation.
Yturri says Family Promise always welcomes monetary help but congregation and community support for Promise Place has been amazing and they already have almost everything they need.
“We still need snow shovels, that’s one thing I think we haven’t gotten. I think we’re going to need them,” said Yturri. “But the generosity has just been so heartwarming. Great Falls is an amazingly generous community.”
For more information, and how you can get involved, click here to visit the Family Promise website.
