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Host and Support Congregations

VOLUNTEERS OF ALL FAITHS CHANGING LIVES

Our Shelter program relies on a partnership of interfaith congregations and other volunteer groups to help local families facing homelessness. Unique in our approach, the engagement  of over 1,600 dedicated volunteers has made Family Promise of Morris County the most cost-effective local shelter program in our area for over 30 years.

 

Our host sites provide lodging, meals, and hospitality to families in need, while our support congregations assist with  other guest needs. For families in the program, each day begins with breakfast at a host site with volunteers, followed by a bus ride to our Day Center, if they so choose. There, guests can meet with their case manager, search for employment, do homework, or cook meals. In the evening, guests return to their host site, where volunteers provide dinner and spend some quality time. The evening hours are for homework, relaxing, and family fun time. Each day ends with the family all together, under one roof.

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Currently, for the safety of our guests, staff, and volunteers, we are utilizing a Motel Shelter model, which allows for social distancing. Although guests are no longer staying overnight, many of our host-site congregations have committed to assistance in other ways. Some support guests through provisions of meals and essential items and virtual engagement, while others have kindly offered financial support in lieu of physical hosting.

HOST CONGREGATIONS

Local houses of worship provide temporary overnight lodging in otherwise unused spaces in their buildings. In a typical year, host congregation volunteers may be involved with the following:

 

  • Cooking and hosting dinner

  • Spending the evening with families, talking, tutoring kids or playing games

  • Sleeping overnight in the congregation

  • Coordinating children’s crafts & activities

  • Donating necessary supplies for the hosting week

  • Setting up and breaking down guest families’ rooms

SUPPORT CONGREGATIONS

Support congregations usually take on a variety of additional roles within our network. This might include collecting household items for use at our Day Center, recruiting volunteers, or committing to monthly, annual, or periodic financial donations.

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MANAGEABLE COMMITMENT

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  • Families stay overnight, not 24 hours a day

  • Each congregation hosts families for just one week, four times a year

  • Guests consist of only two to four families   (14 children & adults max)

  • Family Promise runs criminal background checks and drug screenings on all program participants

  • A Family Promise driver transports the families to and from the host facility and carries their bedding and luggage to each new host location

We need your help!

Can your faith group become a host or support congregation?

Become A Host  or Support Congregation

Thanks for submitting!

WE THANK OUR DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS!

Participating congregations partner with us to ensure our families most basic needs are met. Host congregations use their facilities to shelter families. Support congregations provide meals and offer fellowship to families.

Committed Host Congregations

  • Adath Shalom, Morris Plains

  • Chatham United Methodist Church, Chatham

  • First Baptist Community Church, Parsippany

  • First Baptist Church of Madison, Madison

  • First Congregational Church of Chester, Chester

  • Grace Church – Bethlehem Campus, Randolph

  • Grace E-Free Church, Oak Ridge

  • Hillside Lutheran Brethren Church, Succasunna

  • Hilltop Church, Mendham

  • Ledgewood Baptist Church, Ledgewood

  • Long Hill Chapel, Chatham

  • Mendham Hills Community Church/Beyond the Walls, Chester

  • Our Lady Star of the Sea, Lake Hopatcong

  • Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, Chatham

  • Presbyterian Church of New Providence, New Providence

  • Redeemer Lutheran Church, Succasunna

  • St. Patrick Parish, Chatham

  • St. Vincent Martyr, Madison

  • Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling

  • Temple Shalom Reform, Succasunna

Committed Support Congregations

  • All Saints Episcopal Church, Millington

  • Assumption Church of Morristown, Morristown

  • Bethel Church of Morristown, Morristown

  • Brookside Community Church, Brookside

  • Budd Lake Union Chapel, Budd Lake

  • Calvary Baptist Church, Morristown

  • Calvary Presbyterian, Florham Park

  • Church of Christ the King, New Vernon

  • Church of the Redeemer, Morristown

  • Church of the Savior, Denville

  • Denville United Methodist Community Church, Denville

  • First Memorial Presbyterian Church, Dover

  • First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, Rockaway

  • First Presbyterian Church of Stirling, Stirling

  • First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna, Succasunna

  • Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Florham Park

  • Grace Church, Netcong

  • Grace Episcopal Church, Madison

  • Living Waters Church, Parsippany

  • Long Hill Chapel, Chatham

  • Madison United Methodist Church, Madison

  • Meyersville Presbyterian Church, Gillette

  • Mission Latina, Ledgewood

  • Morristown Jewish Center, Morristown

  • Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, Morristown

  • Newbridge Church, Morristown

  • Our Lady of the Lake, Mount Arlington

  • Port Morris United Methodist Church, Landing

  • St. Andrew Lutheran, Parsippany

  • St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Parsippany

  • St. Jude Roman Catholic Church, Hopatcong

  • St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Chester

  • St. Michael Church, Netcong

  • St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Chatham

  • St. Paul’s Episcopal, Chatham

  • St. Peter the Apostle, Parsippany

  • St. Peter’s Episcopal, Mount Arlington

  • St. Vincent de Paul, Stirling

  • St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains

  • Succasunna United Methodist Church, Succasunna

  • Temple B’nai Or, Morristown

  • Temple Hatikvah, Flanders

  • Trinity Lutheran Church, Dover

  • United Methodist Church of Lake Hopatcong, Lake Hopatcong

  • United Methodist Church of Parsippany, Parsippany

  • Valley View Chapel, Long Valley

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