Family Promise returned to MKT

USY students play basketball with families from Family Promise

Family Promise returned to Midbar Kodesh Temple earlier this month when several guest families spent each evening of the week at the synagogue. The guests enjoyed dinners and activities provided by the congregants and then spent the night in the building with a supervising volunteer.

MKT member and beautician Gayle Prince provided hair cuts one evening. Another evening USYers entertained the families at a local park with games and a picnic dinner. MKT Katan advisor Rina Sterling and family did an art project with the guests. Early Childhood Center preschool teachers Ms. Val, Ms. Katie, and Ms. MaryAnn stayed after school and treated the women to manicures while the children enjoyed getting their faces painted.

Many of Family Promise families are temporarily homeless because of a job loss or illness and seek temporary housing and meals while actively trying to find jobs and permanent housing. They have no other family resources to draw upon, but with help from religious congregations, who provide temporary space in their buildings, are able to transition from homelessness to having permanent housing.

Family Promise Las Vegas has a Day Center that offers numerous resources, including job and credit counseling, welfare and legal advocacy,individual and family therapy and other services. The Day Center offers the opportunity for meals, showers, preparation for job interviews and day care for the children.

Family Promise's approach of keeping families together, identifying their strengths, and partnering with the community for solutions means that families are at much lower risk of returning to homelessness. The national organization was started by one woman and her family to help people understand what life in poverty is like. It has grown into a national organization with more than 170,000 volunteers helping more than 50,000 children and their families each year.

For more information on how to help Family Promise at Midbar Kodesh Temple please call the synagogue at 702.454.4848. For more information on how to provide programming and volunteer support for Family Promise Las Vegas go to: http://familypromiselv.com/.