Family Promise of the Coastal Empire: Helping Savannah Families Move From Housing Crisis to Stability

Some of the families who need help most in Savannah are the ones you never see.

They are working the register at the store down the street. Their kids sit next to yours in class. They are living in a hotel, in a car, or doubled up with two or three other families in one apartment, and nothing about them says homeless.

In Episode 12 of Savannah Spotlight, host Renee LaSalle and Live Like Locals Ambassador Maria Solesbee sat down at Monument at Pooler with Katrina Bostick, CEO of Family Promise of the Coastal Empire, to talk about those families and the network that has been helping them for 29 years.

Who Family Promise of the Coastal Empire Serves

Family Promise of the Coastal Empire works with any family that has a child under 18: a single mom, a single dad, or grandparents raising grandchildren.

The organization serves four counties: Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty. Katrina says each county has its own needs, so the team works to fill the gaps in each community. The goal is for families with children to do more than survive here. The goal is for them to thrive.

Family Promise is a national organization, but the Coastal Empire affiliate has made a point of looking like the community it serves. It is now in its 29th year and heading into its 30th.

The Hidden Homeless in Our Community

When most people picture homelessness, they picture a single adult. Katrina wants people to picture families too.

Families with children are what she calls the hidden homeless, because homelessness does not come with a sign on your forehead. These families are working in our stores, and their children are in our schools.

Family Promise was founded on a simple idea. Families with children needed services, and local congregations had space that was not being used to its full potential. Bringing the two together created the Interfaith Hospitality Network, where the faith-based community opens its doors to serve families 365 days a year.

As Katrina put it, you do not have to go to another country to serve people in need. The families who need help, love, guidance and a sense of hope are right here.

How a Family Gets Emergency Housing Help

The first step is the website. Families complete an emergency short-term housing intake at familypromisece.org, and a member of the team reaches out within 24 to 48 hours.

From there, the first goal is to keep families out of a shelter if at all possible. Katrina gave the example of a single mom of two living with her grandmother, who has given her 30 days to move out. Family Promise can work with that mom during those 30 days to move her family into permanent housing, so her children never have to experience a shelter. Even a good shelter environment can be traumatic for a family.

When a family does need to come into the program, the team is already planning before they arrive:

• A 19-point assessment within seven days. It covers child care barriers, food insecurity, health care, transportation and the other things that can keep a family from getting housing or keeping it.
• Health connections. Families are connected to mental health and physical health services through community partners.
• Partner referrals within seven to 10 days. Every family is referred to the partners who can provide the services they need, while Family Promise provides the safety net.

Katrina describes it as a chance for families to reset, refocus and revive. And as she said more than once, none of it works without partnerships.

A 93% Success Rate, and Why the Work Does Not Stop

Family Promise of the Coastal Empire has kept a 93% success rate for families who leave the program and move into permanent housing.

Katrina compares short-term emergency housing to an emergency room. That is where families are triaged and stabilized. Once they are in permanent housing, the support systems stay in place, and new ones are added, so each family stays healthy based on its own needs and goals.

She is honest that the program is not easy. The hardest conversations are about parenting, finances and accountability, and not every family is ready for that work the moment they reach out. When they are ready, Family Promise wants to hear from them.

Schools, Churches and Agencies Can Refer Families

Organizations working with a family facing housing insecurity can make a referral at familypromisece.org. Using the website helps the team see where referrals come from and gives them a contact to follow up with. Family Promise then reaches out to the family directly to assess their needs.

How You Can Help Family Promise

Katrina shared several ways Savannah locals can make a difference right now:

• Volunteer. Family Promise was gifted 11 containers of brand new furniture that need to be assembled. Groups of all ages are welcome, including youth groups.
• Donate a car. Reliable transportation changes everything for a family trying to get to work, school and doctor appointments. Donated cars go straight to families who need them.
• Give unrestricted funds. No two families arrive with the same needs. Unrestricted donations let the team help each family the way it actually needs.
• Share what you are not using. Laptops, clothes, books and gently used household items can all go to work for local families.

A donation to Family Promise, Katrina says, is a donation to the community.

Contact Family Promise of the Coastal Empire

• Website and family intake: familypromisece.org
• Chatham County: 912-790-9446
• Effingham County: 912-519-0567
• Bryan County: 912-445-4021
• Mail: P.O. Box 22023, Savannah, GA 31403
• Facebook: Family Promise of the Coastal Empire
• Instagram: @familypromisecoastalempire

Watch the Full Episode

Watch Episode 12 of Savannah Spotlight to hear the full conversation with Katrina Bostick about the hidden homeless, how Family Promise of the Coastal Empire helps families move from crisis to a stable home, and how you can help.

Catch every episode on the Savannah Spotlight page, including Episode 11 with GROW Initiative Georgia.

Episode 12 of Savannah Spotlight was filmed at Monument at Pooler.

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