Mt View

Mountain View Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee Foothills, with the assistance of more than 80 trained volunteers, recently hosted its first homeless families through the Family Promise program. I'm betting that outside the church membership, no one even knew or noticed the "guests" of Family Promise. And therein lies the quiet reality of a program that has received a lot of angry community and press attention.

Organized 30 years ago as the first church in the area, Mountain View Lutheran has always served the community through programs that serve young and old alike. The Ahwatukee Preschool started by the church just finished its 25th year. OPAS, an Outreach Program for Ahwatukee Seniors, also began with support from Mountain View. So when the church first began investigating the Family Promise program in 2004, the move to join Family Promise' interfaith hospitality network seemed a natural fit. Except that few people locally had heard of the Family Promise program, and some anonymous, fearful residents envisioned a homeless shelter in the neighborhood. In fact, Carl Mangold, executive director of Family Promise-Greater Phoenix, is careful to clarify the program provides "emergency sheltering services."

Through a network of 18 faith communities, including several in equally upscale Paradise Valley and north Scottsdale, homeless families are hosted by congregations for a week at a time. Participants agree to be screened for criminal backgrounds and drug use and sign a contract agreeing to basic rules. Domestic violence victims or mentally ill clients are screened and referred to other programs more focused on their needs. Families stay at the host congregation from about 6 in the evening until 5:30 the following morning when they are bussed back to a central day location. Congregations agree to welcome them, feed them and provide a safe place to sleep for the night.

I spoke with coordinators Roger and Sandi Hildenbrand, who exuded the enthusiasm of everyone involved in the Mountain View program. "Everyone has been so positive; the experience has exceeded our expectations. The program asks us to be flexible for additional families. I'm glad we have the resources to support up to 20 people, as additional families were added through the week, including a single mother and her 3-month-old baby. We don't even think of the word homeless; these people are our guests. We play with the children and offer entertainment options. One volunteer came in and helped the children make beaded jewelry. But we also respect that our guests are tired and try not to be intrusive."

The program requires about 10-12 volunteers per evening, to prepare and serve meals, help with children and answer questions. Medical personnel are on call in case of emergency, and overnight hosts stay at the church to provide any assistance necessary. The Family Promise program supplies the nearly 20 roll-away beds but local congregations are responsible for supplying clean linens and for transporting the beds to the next congregation. In short, it takes a lot of coordination and an ongoing commitment to the program to be a host congregation. Congregations host three to four times a year.

Christina, a single-mother of four, reflected as she watched her young children playing tag."It's hard," she said, "to wake up every morning and leave at 5:30 a.m. and the kids don't understand why we're in this situation. But I'm very grateful, and at least with the volunteers here you forget your difficulties for a while." Then her daughter shyly showed off her new beaded bracelet she'd made the night before.

Statistics on homelessness support the growing need for programs like Family Promise. Per Carl Mangold, "Twenty-five percent of the people we serve are children under the age of 5, and nationwide 40 percent of all homeless people are families. We live in a time when many people live paycheck to paycheck, and one emergency like a lost job or broken car can lead to homelessness."

Megan Heemsoth, a member of Mountain View, volunteered with her 14-year-old son, Bryn Heemsoth, an eighth-grade student at Centennial Middle School. We chatted as she watched her son play basketball with two of the guests. "Most of the training was about how things would work, and general do's and don'ts of the program," she said. "But I have to wonder why all the fuss was made over this. Everyone visiting has been so polite and nice." Given the sizable neighborhood protests, the peaceful experience for all concerned served as a special blessing, and perhaps a confirmation of what the church had assured the community: The program would be both a positive experience that is safe and unobtrusive to the neighborhood.

Reach Katrina Shawver at casadeletters@yahoo.com.