Since 2000, the programs of Family Promise of Greater Phoenix have helped nearly 1,000 families. THE CAUSE Family Promise currently has a wait list of more than 100 families — with the family homelessness epidemic continuing to grow at a rate of 13 percent each year and with most homeless families consisting of young, single mothers and their children. “If you look at homeless families across the nation — and by the way, in Maricopa County, it’s the same — more than 80 percent of them are young mothers with young children,” said Taylor. Of all sectors of homelessness, family homelessness is growing fastest due to factors such as fewer families remaining intact and lack of accessible, affordable multifamily housing and quality transportation. “We’re pushing the working poor into the periphery of Maricopa County, pushing them to the perimeter,” said Taylor. “What happens when we do that is those families lose the ability to participate in their children’s lives because they have to take transportation that’s really weak to get to work. So they may be in transport for two or three hours one way to get to work because they have to live in an apartment that’s far out in the community because there’s nothing available close in.” Not only does this prohibit parents from being active participants in their child’s lives, it makes working and managing childcare more difficult. Then, a third of families that become homeless, often due to job loss, have their children taken away or voluntarily give them up because they are no longer considered capable parents. “I’ve had police officers in this program, nurses, teachers, professional singers in this shelter,” said Taylor. “You see, it can happen to anybody because it’s a sequence. It’s almost always the 40 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | OCTOBER 2018

CONNECTING WOMEN WHERE THEY WORK, LIVE OR PLAY Join us where you live, work or play to connect with like-minded women to share information, ideas, contacts and opportunities. Learn more at: eastvalleywomen.org | centralphoenixwomen.org | womenofscottsdale.org same. You lose the job, you run out of money and run out of friends and family. It can happen to wealthy people, middle-income people. It can absolutely happen. The stigma around homelessness is that they’re bad people, and it’s simply not true.” THE FUTURE Now, Family Promise is looking to help even more Arizona families, with a goal of going from a 100-family operation to a 250-family operation. To do so, the organization is setting its sight on new areas of the Valley — in Glendale, where they recently secured a new site, and in East Mesa, where they’re in the process of finding a new site. In addition to securing these sites and growing its network of participating congregations, which makes serving more families possible, Family Promise is looking to acquire eight units of communal housing. “It gives us the capacity to handle another 50 families a year,” said Taylor. “We use it for saving money. What happens is they’ll move out of our shelter into that apartment but they have to be employed, follow the rules and save money. Then we’ll make sure that they get in a really strong position in their own place.” Which is what this family promise is all about. To learn more, visit familypromiseaz.org . CHARITY SPOTLIGHT CONTINUED Jamie Killin WEB EDITOR @JamieKillin