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Interfaith Hospitality Network The Interfaith Hospitality Network program brings shelter, meals, and support services
to families without homes. IHNs are a cost-efficient, effective, and replicable community response to family homelessness.
Because they make use of existing community resources, they can be implemented quickly, without major start-up costs. IHN
programs vary from community to community, reflecting local needs and resources. However, there are five basic components
to an IHN program. 1. Hosts
Hosting rotates weekly among the 10 to 12 host congregations in
a Network. In turn, each host congregation provides lodging, three meals daily, and welcoming care. 2.
Day Center
Guests use a local day center from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, where the IHN director, a professional social worker,
provides case management services. There, guests pursue employment, tend pre-school children, shower, and do laundry. The
day center provides guests with a mailing address and a base for housing and employment searches. Many guests are employed
during the day, while older children attend school. 3. Volunteers
Volunteers provide various
services: Cooking and serving meals Playing with children or helping them with homework
Interacting with guests, with respect and compassion 4. Social Service Agencies
Local
social service agencies refer families to the Network. The agencies may also help guests find housing, jobs, and benefits.
5. Transportation
An IHN van transports guests to and from the day center. The van also carries bedding
and luggage to the next host congregation. The US Census Bureau reports that over 12 percent of the
U. S. population now lives in poverty. That’s more than one in every nine people and one in six children. Millions
of people whose income is above the official poverty line also cannot afford basic necessities. They do not have things that
many American families take for granted and regularly have to choose between paying the rent and putting food on the table.
Families with children are the fastest growing segment
of the homeless population—40 percent of the urban homeless population and 50 percent in rural areas. Why? There
are many reasons why so many of our neighbors live in poverty:
lack of affordable housing
jobs that pay low wages and offer minimal benefits
the high cost of childcare and health care
inaccessible public transportation Our Promise is to provide homeless families with the comprehensive support they
need—housing and job placement services, mentoring, links to community resources—and to foster community-based
responses to poverty. - Poverty and Family Homelessness
*Over 12 percent of the U. S. population
lives in poverty—one in six children.
*Families with children are the fastest-growing segment of the
homeless population in the US–40%.
*Thirty-six million people, including 14 million children, experience hunger.
*About
41 million people do not have health insurance.
*A minimum-wage worker would have to work more than 67 hours
a week just to keep a family of four above the poverty line of $18,104 per year for the average family of four.
- Family
Promise
*Ninety-nine Affiliates operate 114 IHNs in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
*Thirty-two new Networks are currently forming in nine additional states.
*More than 3,500 congregations
are involved in Family Promise programs.
*More than 95,000 volunteers are involved in Network programs.
*In a typical Network, half of the guests are children, most under six years old.
*Ninety-seven
service and housing programs have been developed as an outgrowth of the Interfaith Hospitality Networks.
*In 2003, 83 percent of guest families found permanent or transitional housing.
*Families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population—40 percent of the urban homeless
population and 50 percent in rural areas.
More than 120,000 guests have been assisted by Family Promise programs.
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