30 May Decent housing is the foundation for healthy fulfilled lives

…a message from Executive Director Marsha Eichelberger

Our community of Montgomery County is the second wealthiest county in the state and the 51st wealthiest in the nation. Despite that, there are pockets of deep poverty. In fact, an estimated 438 Montgomery county residents were homeless in 2014. We are all too familiar with the people behind these statistics, as all of the families served by Inter-Faith consist of at least one adult and one child and all are living in poverty.

One of the primary challenges our families face is the sheer lack of safe, decent, and affordable housing. Decent housing is the foundation for healthy fulfilled lives and provides a means to break the cycle of poverty, a cycle that exists here in our own backyard. Our vision is that homelessness should be rare, brief and non-recurring. We are grateful to have so many congregations in our network share this vision, particularly First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, whose recent donation of $300,000 has enabled us to expand the IFHA program to include graduate housing for two additional families with children.

During the summer, we plan to enlist local congregations and our other community partners to upgrade Hope Forest so that each apartment and the exterior of the property, is safe, clean and ready to meet the needs of our families. With that work completed, the Hope Forest program will officially launch at the end of summer and families will move into the apartments at that time.

We are grateful for the incredible support of all of our volunteers, but now more than ever we invite you to be a part of the solution so that no family in our community needs to worry about where they are going to sleep tonight. Visit www.fpmontco.org to make a financial pledge or donation, host a drive, or sign up to volunteer. With your support, we help families gain critical skills that will advance their potential for long-term stability. Inter-Faith Housing Alliance will continue our work until there is a home for everyone.

Thank you.
Executive Director Marsha Eichelberger