Three years ago, St Vincent Martyr was honored to kick off the first week of the new Motel Shelter Program at Family Promise of Morris County, providing emergency shelter to individuals and families in need. Now Family Promise's Shelter Program is in critical need of funding. A grant received through the CARES Act that has been funding the motel sheltering program will end in June. Additionally, funding from FEMA has been cut for all of Morris County this year. Last year, Family Promise received $250,000 from FEMA to help fund the shelter program and this year there will be no funding from FEMA.
The cost of one night of shelter at the Extended Stay Motel is $80 per room. We have been utilizing three rooms, which brings the amount to $240 per night. There are about 214 households on the shelter waiting list hoping to enter a shelter program. Some of these families are living in cars or hopping from family to friends' homes. Unfortunately, Family Promise cannot take any of the families on the waiting list into their shelter program because of lack of funding.
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We invite you to provide support for these programs, including funding or hosting activities during our annual Host Weeks. Donations are fully tax-deductible and will be included in your FaithDirect statement. To see how you can be part of this innovative solution to homelessness, please see www.svmnj.org/housing or contact Nancy Romain at 973-865-8346 or nerdmr@optonline.net . If you would like to donate specific items to make this a reality, please contact Kathy McCormick at kathmacsee@yahoo.com.
You can help by making donations toward the purchase of the following:
For the past 3 years St Vincent Martyr has been part of the motel sheltering program at Family Promise. Local motel rooms provide emergency shelter to a families in need, including a full sized kitchen for meal preparation and desks for students. Families also receive individualized social services and counseling to facilitate their move to permanent housing.
During our 2023 Host Weeks, we will provide support to the families and single women, including meals, groceries, and other essential items. During our Host Week beginning June 18, we will focus on funding for the Motel Emergency Shelter Program to continue help for families while other funding sources are secured.
This year we again also have the opportunity to support Promising Solutions: a collaborative partnership that offers a comprehensive, community-based approach to increasing overall health, economic, and housing outcomes for single women in the community.
Promising Solutions currently houses 32 single women and is the only program of it’s kind serving single women in Morris County.