Interfaith Hospitality Network

The Interfaith Hospitality Network is Family Promise Montco PA’s emergency shelter program. The Network provides Montgomery County families with children who are experiencing homelessness with a safe place to stay, along with supportive services, for approximately 90 days.

Shelter Entry

Family Promise Montco PA participates in Your Way Home, Montgomery County’s unified and coordinated housing crisis response system for families and individuals experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.

Families must be referred by Your Way Home to enter our emergency shelter. If you are seeking shelter, please contact Your Way Home by dialing 610.278.3522.

Shelter Model

Our shelter delivery model is unique and cost-effective. Twenty-four “host” and “buddy” congregations house and support our families for one month each year at their places of worship. Families are provided with comfortable accommodations in classrooms converted to bedrooms or other safe spaces. Volunteers from the congregation, who typically contribute more than 3,000 hours of their time each year, prepare and share meals, provide overnight assistance, and help with transportation. Many volunteers make special connections to our families, often providing a level of genuine intrinsic support that bolsters our families and brings them further into a community that is invested in their success.

More than half of our partnering congregations have been involved with us for 20 years or more. While we work in partnership with community congregations, the program is non-denominational.

Shelter Families

Participating families spend the day at work, school, or at Family Promise’s Day Center, where staff provides intensive case management and comprehensive support services to help families resolve their homelessness. These services help parents care for themselves and their families, improve their life skills and decision-making abilities, and develop the internal resources necessary to become self-sufficient.

Our unique model can accommodate families of various compositions, including two-parent households and male-headed households. Most families are single-parent, female-headed households with young children. In FY2023, 16 adults and 29 children participated in the program.

Get Involved

Interested in getting your congregation involved? Contact our Network Planning Coordinator by emailing marilyn@fpmontco.org, calling 215.628.2334, or filling out a contact form.