The Promise House
Transitional housing in the move towards independent living
A family who has successfully completed the shelter portion of Family Promise is eligible for the Promise House. The Promise House is an opportunity for a family to practice the skills that they learned in shelter. The parents must be working and display the ability to follow a budget which includes a savings plan and debt repayment. The family pays a program fee of 30% of their monthly income and the electric bill. The family continues to work with Family Promise staff on their housing, employment and financial goals. If a family is compliant and making progress toward their goals, they are able to remain at the Promise House until their permanent housing becomes available.
On December 16, 2014, Trinity UMC acquired the property at 362 Church Street with the idea of using it for mission work. Trinity UMC was serving as a Host Congregation for Family Promise at the time. In April of 2015, Trinity approached Family Promise about using the property as part of our transitional housing program. An agreement was reached between the Trinity Trustees and the Family Promise Board in June of 2015. In July 2015, in collaboration with the Indiana Co. Office of Planning & Development, a grant was written to obtain PHARE monies to rehabilitate the property. The project was awarded $55,000 in October of 2015 and Dave Morrow from the ICOPD went to work developing plans to best utilize the space. With plans in place to convert the 2 bed, 1 bath house into a 3 bed, 2 bath single family dwelling, a request for bids went out in April 2016. CNC Construction was awarded the contract. The bid was over budget but ICOPD suggested that if we could get volunteers to complete the demolition, we could keep to the budget. The Grace UMC Mission Committee volunteered to do the demolition in October of 2016. Members of Trinity UMC took out the chimney and assisted with the demolition. ICOPD was able to add $27,048 in ACT 137 Funds and the remodeling was completed in May of 2017. Trinity UMC generously paid for additional kitchen cabinets, a new dryer and a new stove for the house. They also painted the front porch. On June 10th, groups from the Summit Church and the Independent Baptist Church in Shelocta helped move furniture into the house. Ladies from Graystone equipped the kitchen and hung blinds in all the windows. Some other “angels” bought furnishings for the 2 children’s bedrooms. The home was ready for the first family (a mom and her 2 sons) to move in July 1, 2017 with the final project cost of $83,188.
Our Mission: To bring the faith community together to help families regain their housing, their independence and their dignity.