Our Story :  How Family Promise Helped Us

"It’s so hard to know just where to begin so I will begin with how I came to Family Promise? Or do I begin with what I became through Family Promise?

November 9, 2010, Gabby (my 7 year old granddaughter) and I arrived at 313 Harley Drive. I was numb and mentally and emotionally exhausted, with no idea what to expect. Words fall short when trying to express what goes through ones’ mind when finding herself homeless, there was a point when gathering our things in preparation for our arrival at the Harley House that my heart felt heavy as I cried out to God “Abba, I don’t know how to pack to be homeless.”

Fast forward…at our second church, now getting the rhythm of daily life with family promise, feeling a new strength and confidence stirring within me every day I wake up with a new expectancy. Evening meals provided a great opportunity to share and even bond with the hosts, putting in my heart the Church of Acts a body of believers, different denominations and congregations meeting in the basements of churches, coming together to minister the gospel. Whether or not the actual word of God was shared, God was always manifested. “They will know we are Christians by our Love.”
Fast forward…to January 10, 2011, I am writing this as I sit on my own couch, in my own living room, in my own apartment. Giving God all the praises! Today my heart is full, full of hope and prayers!

My time with Family Promise has not only changed my state of being, its’ changed my being. Prior to becoming residentially challenged I was an eleven year resident of Knoxville and had very few acquaintances that I could call for help of any kind. Life for me in Knoxville felt very isolated; being a transplant from all over, I found it very hard to find a niche of any sense of belonging, until being a guest with Family Promise. As I sit here today I am so overwhelmed with the blessings that have been brought into my life, my home is completely furnished from linens to lamps. My life is full with new friends (people that saw past my situation) that I can call because I have a need of any kind but more importantly friends that I call friends.

Gabby and I have been welcomed and enveloped into a community, Fountain City, that has already given us a sense of belonging with a place to call home, a new job for me and a network full of people who we call friends and family, and a new sense of belonging! Saying thank you somehow just doesn’t seem like enough.

Thank you Family Promise for partnering with God and bringing restoration back to my life. As I look back at my first days with Family Promise, my needs were being met on a daily basis changing my outlook from feeling homeless and hopeless to being blessed and no longer residentially challenged. "
 

Many thanks,
Denesse and Gabby

Our mission is to help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence.

We recognize that poverty is a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted response. We respond by integrating educational outreach, smart programming, effective policies, and the hands-on work of thousands of volunteers. We provide food, shelter, and support services for homeless families. We provide advice and advocacy for at-risk families to prevent their becoming homeless. And we educate people about poverty and the means to combat it.