Midland Interfaith Hospitality Network (MIHN)
Our shelter program and warm hospitality is the foundation of the Family Promise model.
Across this country, communities offer hospitality to families through Family Promise Affiliates. The innovative model — using existing space like congregations and volunteers motivated by compassion —has helped hundreds of thousands of children and adults in our national network of 200+ Affiliates. Working with community resources, Family Promise Affiliates provide comprehensive and targeted services, including extensive case management, at 1/3 the cost of traditional shelter. Furthermore, Family Promise Affiliates serve families of all compositions, often providing their only shelter option in a community.
HOW IT WORKS
To qualify for our services, a family must be homeless as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act (the same Act public schools use to define students who are homeless, which basically states that a family is considered homeless if they can't find a place to live, can't afford a place to live, are living with friends, relatives, in a hotel/motel, in another shelter, in their vehicle, or out on the street) AND they must have at least 1 child aged 17 years or younger in their care.
The program capacity for the MIHN is 4 families, up to 14 people. We operate a 'Hybrid Static Site' model, whereby the families reside in a duplex; sharing a unit with another family (2 families per unit). Local congregations, organizations, businesses/companies provide a week's worth of food for the persons in the program, anywhere from 1 - 4 times a year. During the "Host" week, the volunteers also prepare dinner for the families, serving the meal at our Day Center and engaging in fellowship over dinner.
While in the program, adults are required to work full-time, go to school full-time, or a combination thereof. While in the program, families work extensively with an assigned case manager on short-term objectives to reach long-term goals. All families are required to save 80% of their net income in their own bank accounts. Family Promise of Midland pays for childcare, thus removing that barrier to future success. Families MUST be committed to helping themselves to reach a higher level of self-sufficiency. We are NOT a hand-out, we are a hand-UP! All families are REQUIRED to follow the rules of the program or they will be dismissed.
We are the only organization in Midland that accepts single moms, single dads, and two-parent families while providing housing, case-management, and free-childcare. We also welcome families who have members with special needs.
Families must apply for the program. The family must call our office (432-218-8231) to setup an interview. IF Family Promise of Midland is right for the family and the family meets the initial qualifications of Family Promise, a second interview is scheduled with our Executive Director and case managers. Once a family is accepted, a date is set for entrance into the program or the family is placed on a waiting list until a vacancy occurs. Prior to entering the program all adults and any child in junior high or above must submit to a drug screening. All adults will have background checks completed. Nothing excludes a person on a background check immediately, except for a sex offense. We do not accept sex offenders into the program due to the family nature of the program. Not all families that apply are accepted.
The MIHN program is an exceptional program for a parent(s) to save money quickly, return to school to complete their education, learn essential life-skills, and renew their hope for a bright future for themselves and their children. If a family "works" the program, the program will work for them!
A COMMUNITY RESPONSE
At Family Promise of Midland we partner with local congregations and organizations to host and support our families. By bringing the community together on the issue of family homelessness, Family Promise of Midland addresses a major social problem in a holistic, effective way. Once the community becomes engaged, people understand the root causes of family homelessness and take steps to address them.
The following congregations currently make up the Midland Interfaith Hospitality Network:
-
Christian Church of Midland
-
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
-
Downtown Church of Christ
-
Fairmont Park Church of Christ
-
First Christian Church
-
First Presbyterian Church
-
Golf Course Road Church of Christ
-
Goodwill Baptist Church
-
Grace Lutheran Church
-
Grace Presbyterian Church
-
Living Way Foursquare Church
-
Midland Lutheran Church
-
St. Ann's Catholic Church
-
St. Mark's United Methodist Church
-
St. Luke's United Methodist Church
-
True Lite Christian Fellowship
A LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Not only does the Midland Interfaith Hospitality Network mean many more families stably housed, it is also a tremendous cost saving to the community as diversion from far more expensive interventions. Our approach of keeping families together, identifying their strengths, and partnering with the community for solutions means that families are at much lower risk of returning to homelessness.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Family Promise of Midland changes lives. In our Midland Interfaith Hospitality Network, we served 43 parents and children in 2019, giving them the ability to realize their true potential.