FAMILY PROMISE AIDING OFTEN OVERLOOKED HOMELESS FAMILIES

Rutherford County is one of the friendliest most generous communities anywhere. Prosperity and abundance aren't just preached on Sunday mornings at the many area churches it is a reality in our local economy. A reality that has been noticed by every imaginable media source that reports on such things or puts together those clickbait stories about the The Top Five Communities For Dog Parks, The 7 Cities You Want To Start A Business In, Eight hidden Gems of X, Y, and Z...you know the ones I am talking about.

All of those wonderful accolades are true but walking in locked step with this robust growth that is the envy of nearly every other community in our United States is an equally amazing truth of the growing divide between those who have and those who have not. The working poor, the underemployed, the overextended, and those caught in the pivot from one career to another are one unexpected bill away from a nearly inescapable cycle of poverty and homelessness. It's hard to believe that right here in the midst of God's country, the very buckle of the Bible belt we attempt to save face to family, friends, neighbors, employers, clergy, and strangers.

In Rutherford County, the statistics of people teetering on the edge of this abyss is a growing number of families. The most accurate figures available suggest that over 2000 families who send their children to school alongside your grandchildren, children, nephews, and nieces are experiencing homelessness right now. When you look at those numbers they are jaw-dropping but they only reveal a portion of the reality of this problem because it fails to identify those families with children younger than school-age. These kids are artists, athletes, writers, math and computer whiz kids and worthy of opportunity and a future.

On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, you are invited to come to Saint Mark's United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro to hear Jeanna Beck, Regional Director for Family Promise which works with independent local 501(c)3 chapters throughout the country to help at-risk and struggling families move life in the right direction.

Locally Family Promise' efforts have recently been picked up by Debbie Church who admitted that the organization has previously struggled to gain traction. Because of that struggle, this event will be used as a gauge to see how the local organization will be able to benefit from the national Family Promise organization which has a 75% success rate of stabilizing the families they work with.

Contact Debbie Church at (615) 456-8498 to learn how you can get involved with Family Promise here in Murfreesboro.