WEN FEATURED NONPROFIT
Greater Portland Family Promise
Greater Portland Family Promise (GPFP) serves children and families who are experiencing homelessness. The 151-bed Portland Family Shelter is frequently at capacity, leaving many families without a place to stay. GPFP opened in July 2017 as a way to respond to this challenge.
GPFP provides guest families with shelter, food, case management, and community connection. Families spend their evenings and overnights in host congregations around the Greater Portland area, where they are welcomed and nurtured by volunteers.
GPFP is not a faith-based organization but works closely with local faith communities to access the resources of their facilities and volunteer support.
During the daytime, families go to the GPFP Day Center, which acts as their home base while they are in the program. While at the Day Center, families meet daily with staff and work intensively with the GPFP case manager to seek housing and connect with other resources. Families can also do laundry, shower, use computers, and store their belongings.
GPFP endeavors to provide full-spectrum care for its families in an atmosphere of hospitality and warmth. It provides 24/7/365 care for families while they are in the program, meeting all their basic needs so they can be freed to focus on establishing sustainable living situations. When guests find housing and are ready to leave the program, GPFP helps equip them with furniture and household goods, and provides them with ongoing support as they get settled in their new homes. It is of utmost importance that GPFP guests feel welcomed, supported, and cared for from the moment they enter the program.
GPFP is largely a volunteer driven organization.
There are 700 trained volunteers in the GPFP network who all play an important part in supporting guest families. Volunteers cook food, share meals with guests, play with children, move guests into their new homes, and so much more. This program has an impact not only on the guests served but on the volunteers who participate. The relationships built between guests and volunteers are transformational and work to break down barriers of division to form a loving and more connected community.
People of all ages can become involved with GPFP. To learn more about this program and about how to attend a volunteer training, please visit GPFP’s website at www.greaterportlandfamilypromise.org.
The WEN Featured Nonprofit is brought to readers with support from Benchmark Residential & Investment Real Estate.
