Program launches to help homeless families
A pilot program to help homeless families in Fort Collins is taking off its training wheels.
One Village One Family, an offshoot of the Colorado Governor's Office's One Congregation One Family program, is a mentoring program that pairs a group of mentors — or village — with a homeless family to help them find secure housing and gain self-sufficiency.
Ken John, the program's coordinator through nonprofit Homeless Gear, said One Village One Family is ready for a full launch and will begin taking referrals for families and volunteer village members immediately.
He believes the program could help solve the affordable housing crunch in Fort Collins.
"Fort Collins is looking for progressive and solutions-based ways to end homelessness, and this program will contribute to that goal one family at a time," John said.
One Congregation One Family began in Denver in 2006 to unite government, business, nonprofit and faith partners to help homeless families. The program was introduced to Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Fort Collins in 2012.
Two families participated in Fort Collins' pilot program and were mentored by teams from Plymouth Congregational Church. Both families completed the program in early 2013 and gained stable housing. A June survey of Fort Collins' homeless population revealed there were at least 53 homeless children under the age of 18.
John's leadership of the program, which was piloted under the management of Olga Duval of The Family Center, marks a continuation of Homeless Gear's program expansion under new Executive Director David Rout. Rout said the nonprofit, which started as a street outreach program, is growing its family of programs into "the realm of self-sufficiency."
The program will allow John, who founded Homeless Gear, to extend his involvement. John stepped down as Homeless Gear's executive director this year.
"OVOF is a logical next step," Rout said. "It isn't every day that we are approached with the opportunity to take on a state-supported, volunteer-leveraged, best-practice program. We are confident that this will be a win for everyone."
Denver's pilot program has housed more than 1,000 families as of mid-2013. Of those, 87 percent have maintained housing.
Statewide, the program has served more than 2,600 families with 350 mentor groups.
In Fort Collins, eligible families will be referred by partner agencies, including Faith Family Hospitality, The Family Center and The Matthews House.
"It has the potential to change the lives of so many in Fort Collins," said Homeward 2020 Director Vanessa Fenley, who was involved in the program's pilot.
Fort Collins will be the first branch of the One Congregation One Family program in Colorado to use a secular title. John said he hopes the name One Village One Family will be "more inclusive" and encourage "any group of people" to form a village.
Though housing is the main goal of the program, John said villages also help families with personal finance, nutrition, literacy and other life skills.
Mentoring is the most important piece of the puzzle, he said.
"This is all about changing 'I can't' into 'we can,'" John said. "The seed of mentoring is compassion. The labor of mentoring is commitment. The fruit of mentoring is changing lives."
Sarah Jane Kyle is the Coloradoan reporter covering nonprofits, volunteerism and philanthropy. Follow her on Twitter @sarahjanekyle or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reportersarahjane.
One Village One Family: How to get involved
Am I eligible?
Families must participate with Faith Family Hospitality, The Family Center or The Matthews House and be committed to gaining self-sufficiency to be referred to One Village One Family.
Families must meet the following four criteria to be considered:
• Have children age 17 or younger
• Have no current rent or lease agreement in their name
• Have a source of reliable income
• Have no current felony charges
Contact a referring agency for more information.
Can I help?
Village teams of four to six participants can be formed from any group of people, including a business, civic group, social group, neighborhood, church, etc.
All village members must:
• Complete background checks
• Participate in a training session
• Meet with families once a month for six months
• Offer moral support and encouragement to family members
• Help fundraise $1,500 to $2,000 for the family's first month's rent and deposit
• Review support materials on parenting, finances, goal setting, nutrition and literacy
Email Ken@HomelessGear.org or call (970) 581-4921 for more information.