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Family Promise of Gainesville Partners with Help Us Move In (HUMI) to House Families
Even though Carmen was working long hours as a certified nursing assistant, she was having trouble paying rent on the apartment she shared with her 2 daughters.This mothers and many others like her, found housing and assistance through Family Promise’s national partnership with Help Us Move In (HUMI).
Family Promise of Gainesville is proud to announce their selection as a grant recipient in a national partnership between Family Promise and HUMI, a Washington state-based nonprofit working with communities to fund and create programs helping families facing housing crises. The model is based on the shared beliefs of the two organizations that a combination of case management, opportunity, and community can empower the families we serve toward self-sufficiency. The mission of the partnership is simple: to ensure children are Homeless No More.
Family Promise of Gainesville is one of ten Family Promise Affiliates selected from throughout the country for the third cycle of grants nationally. Each Family Promise affiliate will receive a $20,000 Homeless No More Challenge Grant from HUMI over the next two years ($10,000 per year)
if
they are able to raise a match from the community. The grants are not hand-outs: each Affiliate must raise an initial $10,000 before HUMI awards their $10,000 grant. Further, the Affiliate is then expected to engage the community and match the funds with another $20,000 each year. This double challenge match is designed to reinforce a self-sustaining habit of contributions from the community going forward.
Family Promise is also excited to announce that the first part of the required HUMI match has already been met by a generous United Way of North Central Florida donor in a “Home Sweet Home” partnership. Home Sweet Home and Homeless No More will both provide rental and utility deposits for families experiencing homelessness. Family Promise of Gainesville still needs help from community to raise the remaining match requirement. Every dollar donated will be matched by $3 more dollars to invest in our local community.
Family Promise of Gainesville will identify families to receive assistance using the best practice requirements they employ for their client intake process and determine how much temporary assistance each family needs to successfully move into and support a stable home. The funds are restricted to rental assistance, and move-in expenses, including security deposits.
“We are thrilled to partner with HUMI,” said Family Promise of Gainesville’s Executive Director, Jayne Moraski. “This past school year, over 1,000 students were identified as homeless in Alachua County. Yet the state cut funding for homeless services for our region. So this partnership with HUMI and the United Way of North Central Florida will make a major impact toward preventing families from becoming homeless in the first place, and stabilizing families once they regain their housing.”
