Family Promise House in Brackenridge exists to help people who need temporary shelter.
But Karen Snair, executive director, said her group also works to thwart that need wherever possible.
Run by Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, the nonprofit was awarded $20,000 to help people avert the need to use the short-stay home on Morgan St.
The grant comes through Clayton, a Tennessee-based homebuilder, to help keep families in the home they already have, Snair said.
“Keeping families where they already are makes so much sense for so many reasons,” she said.
It’s less stressful, especially for children, and more cost effective.
The grant will help people who struggle with costs associated with staying in their homes, whether through food or gas vouchers.
Similar funding last year allowed Family House to provide 43 local families with case management and diversion services that either kept them in their home or assisted them with moving to a new home, Snair said.
“Those 43 families consisted of 159 people, 101 of those were children,” she said.
“We are so excited to receive this funding again this year, as it gives us the opportunity to serve even more families and provide the housing stability crucial to long-term personal well-being, physical and mental health and economic stability.”
In Allegheny County, there are about 890 people in emergency shelters and another 245 in unsheltered locations, according to the county’s Point-in-Time count, conducted in February.
The Family Promise national network was founded in Harrison in 1993 by the association of churches. It is the leading nonprofit addressing the crisis of family homelessness in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Snair said.
Through prevention services, housing and other initiatives, Family Promise has served more than 1,700 people over the years.
In Brackenridge, the Family Promise House opened in February 2024 on Morgan Street in the former Applewood Personal Care Home. It is open to families with children and can accept 27 people at a time.
In its first year of operation, more than 180 people were assisted.
Last year, it hosted 133 people, 85 of whom were children. Snair said about 80% of the families moved on to some form of permanent or long-term housing.
A renewed partnership between Clayton and the Family Promise national network yielded $2 million in funding to help families remain stable, through a program called “A Future Begins at Home.”
Clayton has also donated 20 homes to the network to allow families to stay together while receiving case management and support services while they work toward permanent housing.