Bradley County Director Shady Hernandez surrounded by staff and Board

Family Promise of North Central Palm Beach County is the 9th affiliate in the Sunshine State. Centered around West Palm Beach, FPNCPBC took time to develop. But last fall the network hired a director, Rhonda Clinton, a seasoned non-profit professional and quickly set to work getting the rest of the network into shape, in response to great need. More than 1600 children in the county school district are identified as homeless, the vast majority of those in greater West Palm Beach.

They start with 11 host congregations and Holy Spirit Episcopal providing the day center. The first host congregation is Oceanview Methodist, which Rhonda says approached the program with joy, “wrapping their hearts around the families.” There are two families to start with. One is a single dad with two sons. He had been living with his mother, but her home is in a retirement community and they risked her being expelled if they continued to stay there. The other family is a mom, dad and four kids who are determined to chart a different life for their children than the one they’ve had.

Family Promise of Bradley County (Cleveland TN) is our 7th network in the aptly named volunteer state.

Bradley County has a population of nearly 100,000 and there is only one shelter in town that serves all populations and in winter it often turns away five families a week—sending them to Chattanooga or Dalton, each a considerable distance away. The local food program—The Caring Place—reported a 21% increase in the number of families utilizing their services, and estimate that 10-15% of those families are homeless.

FPBC’s director is Shady Hernandez, who has diverse experience working with immigrants, families and congregations. They have 13 host congregations and a day center at Wesley United Methodist Church. An anonymous donor donated the trailer (originally North Cleveland Church of God allowed the use of their trailer) and Wesley UMC donated the van. Partnerships are being built with Lee University and Cleveland State Community College.

The first family to come in—and there are more in the program since—typifies the face of family homelessness in Bradley County. A single mom ended up living in a motel, caught in a cycle of money in/money out that would not allow her to secure true housing. North Cleveland Baptist Church was the first host.

Welcome to the Family!