Family Promise at First United Methodist Church of SLC
In 1997, the Salt Lake Chapter of Family Promise was organized with First United Methodist Church of SLC (FUMC) as one of the eight founding congregations. From that time through March 2020, FUMC offered the second-floor Sunday School classrooms as non-congregate emergency shelter for unsheltered families three to four times per year for two weeks at a time. Volunteers from FUMC were present in the church whenever the families were there, providing company during the evenings, bringing hot meals to eat with the families, and staying overnight in case of emergency. For many years, FUMC partnered with Park City Community Church, which provided volunteers during the second week of the families’ stay. There were four private bedrooms for families, two half-baths, and a lounge on the second floor. The families had access to the church kitchen, a dining area, a washing machine and dryer, and a shower on the basement floor.
Recent History
In 2022, Family Promise Salt Lake reopened their emergency shelter program after COVID forced a temporary switch to offering transitional housing only (a model that did not require the volunteer presence utilized under the previous emergency shelter model). After the emergency shelter program reopened, Family Promise changed the model for hosting unsheltered families during their first 90 days in the program to better follow trauma-informed care procedures. Prior to 2022, families rotated among host churches, staying 1 to 4 weeks at a time at each location, with each location hosting 3-4 times per year (Rotational Model).
Families entering emergency shelter now stay in one location for up to 90 days as part of a Static Model, before moving into either housing of their own or into transitional housing provided by Family Promise, depending on their needs and circumstances. Hilltop United Methodist Church in Sandy and Christ United Methodist Church in Millcreek currently serve as the two static sites for Family Promise Salt Lake because they have facilities that make this type of housing arrangement comfortable and practical for the families over such an extended stay. Hilltop UMC has a four-bedroom house on their church property but separate from the church building, and Christ UMC has a self-contained basement wing that includes five bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area, and a laundry room.
In late 2022, the Humanitarian Outreach (HO) Team at FUMC was looking at options to become a static emergency shelter site for Family Promise by renovating our second floor to provide better accommodation and security for guest families. This idea was put on hold as we gained an opportunity to begin hosting another urgently-needed ministry serving unsheltered community members, known as Movie Nights. However, FUMC made the decision that we would continue to support Family Promise by providing volunteers and meals to the families in emergency shelter at Hilltop UMC and Christ UMC. FUMC volunteers began providing meals in December 2022 and continue to the present day. FUMC takes food and meets with the families at one of the Static Model sites one to two weeks at a time at each location, three times a year.
In November 2023, the HO Team organized what we called Cottage Meetings to inform the congregation about the possibilities of hosting Family Promise in our building and renovating the second floor. There was a positive consensus from our two meetings with our members that we could host Family Promise with some upgrades and that renovating the second floor will make good use of that currently underutilized space to benefit the community.
Current Actions
The HO Team then met to begin looking at the options for hosting and renovating the second floor. We came to the following conclusions:
1) The HO Team can support the new static model for our volunteers at FUMC to serve a minimum of 10 meals over a 90-day period. Other churches/organizations would cover the remaining days.
2) The HO Team supports the idea of being able to host Family Promise and Movie Nights in our building as long as they do not overlap for security purposes. We could host Movie Nights from December 1 to March 30 and then Family Promise for one or two 90-day periods between April 1 and November 30.
3) The HO Team is in support of renovating the second floor for hosting Family Promise. The renovation would include making the entire floor a self-contained residence for guests: secure entries, kitchen and dining room, bath/shower, laundry, 4 bedrooms and living room.
The Top Floor Renovation, as recommended by the HO Team, was approved by the FUMC Governing Board (GB) on January 3, 2024. This vote was merely intended to validate the support of the Governing Board and congregation for the project and to initiate the actions.
The Humanitarian Outreach (HO) Team met on May 14, 2024. A sub-committee of the HO Team was formed consisting of Levy Woodruff, Scott Mills, and Mike Green. Mike Green attended this meeting as the Chair of the Trustees with FUMC since the second floor renovation involved matters pertaining to the church building. A Family Promise Campaign Launch was organized for June 9, 2024. A potluck took place after worship to launch this project, intended to generate excitement about our commitment to support Family Promise made last fall during our Cottage Meetings. In addition, information about volunteering for Family Promise, renderings of the proposed second floor remodel, and ideas for fundraising were presented.
Vision for the Future
Family Promise Salt Lake has a goal to continue increasing their capacity to serve families in emergency shelter. In 2023, the emergency shelter capacity was doubled from four to eight families for the first time in the program’s history. First United Methodist Church of Salt Lake City is committed to helping increase the capacity to house families, especially since the need is great. In August, KSL reported on a proposal to convert a former Motel 6 in South Salt Lake into a new family shelter. The article noted that “Since 2020, Utah has seen a 27% increase in families experiencing homelessness. In the past year, the Road Home outreach staff reports serving a total of 86 households — 270 people, including 180 children — who were living somewhere not meant for human habitation” and that “the Road Home reported having to turn away approximately 834 families — approximately 3,100 people, 2/3 of whom were children — in the past year.”
As a mission-driven congregation, FUMC feels called to help ensure that no child - or parent - in Utah has to sleep in a car or tent because of lack of available shelter space. This renovation project will help us offer families a safe and comfortable space for their 90-day stay in emergency shelter. The second
floor would be self-contained, giving families privacy, security, and the ability to choose the level of interaction with the wider FUMC community that they feel comfortable with. We are excited for the next chapter in our service with Family Promise Salt Lake.
FUMC Humanitarian Team
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