Our Story
The History of Family Promise of Beaufort County, Inc.
Family Promise of Beaufort County, one of over 200 affiliates in 43 states, opened its doors in July 2008 and remains the only Shelter Program in Beaufort and Jasper counties that serves homeless children, aged 18 and under, and their families. We were founded on the belief that one homeless child is too many!
Three programs assist our families:
Get on Track! is our eviction prevention program. This program assists families with rent and utilities to help keep them housed.
Shelter is our 90-day program that provides families with temporary shelter, comprehensive case management and other services to assist families in their journey to sustaining independence. Our Shelter Program capacity is 4 families, or 14 individuals. We do not provide emergency assistance.
Staying on Track is an opportunity for our Shelter graduates to receive a further 12 months of financial and case management assistance.
Since inception we have assisted over 1,000 children and their parents in our Get on Track, Shelter and Staying on Track Programs.
Prior to COVID-19 we operated a rotational model which involved our families being sheltered overnight in local congregations in the area. As a result of the pandemic, our congregations closed their doors and we were forced to find an alternative solution, housing our families in a local extended stay hotel.
Family Promise of Beaufort County serves 4 families (or 14 individuals) at a time. WE OFFER A HAND-UP, NOT A HANDOUT to families in need by working to determine the underlying cause of a family’s homelessness and then equipping them with the skills and resources needed to maintain lasting independence. Many have experienced generational poverty and cyclical homelessness and our goal is to help break the cycle by providing comprehensive case management and assistance in securing employment, medical care, childcare, school placement, and ultimately affordable housing.
We are funded by federal, state, and local grants; individual and community donors; fundraising events and businesses and in-kind contributions and could not be successful without the backing of our local community.
Our goals for the future are:
Purchase of one or two single family homes as an alternative to hotel stays.
Build a purpose-built static site to provide accommodation for our Shelter families, and our families who participate in Staying on Track.
We continue to strive for our vision of EVERY CHILD WILL HAVE A HOME.