My Father’s House fosters change in homeless families in three primary program areas:
- Safety and Immediate Needs
- Accountability, Education and Skill Building
- Relational Healing and Spiritual Development
Safety and Immediate Needs
We provide for the immediate needs of our residents through housing, food, clothing, and physical and emotional safety. No intervention can take place in the lives of homeless families without these elements in place. By addressing immediate needs and providing a safe space, we eliminate environmental stressors and create an opportunity for impact in individual lives.
Housing: My Father’s House provides shelter for up to 28 families in individual, self-contained units that include kitchenettes and private baths. We provide space for classes and childcare, as well as worship in an in-house chapel.
Food and Clothing: My Father’s House provides donated food and clothing to residents through an on-site donation center and free family store.
Family Safety: My Father’s House is a secure facility with a single entry point monitored during business hours. Shelter rules are designed to maximize safety and stability for all residents.
Child Safety: My Father’s House has developed a comprehensive child safety policy to prevent child abuse and ensure the safety of all children in our shelter, as well as the adults who work with them.
Accountability, Education and Skill Building
Our program centers around structured expectations of residents, recovery groups, a comprehensive life skills education program, and focused skill building through case management and counseling. This aspect of the program is the nexus between theory and practice, where our philosophy and beliefs about how to teach, confront, counsel and foster change are implemented.
Structured Expectations: Every aspect of life in shelter at My Father’s House is deliberate and measured, from when to rise in the morning, to curfew in the evening, how to interact with others, when to cook, and when to clean. Residents are assigned chores and responsibilities in maintaining an orderly, clean living environment.
Comprehensive Life Skills Program: The Life Skills and Rent Well © curriculums foster change through education and training. The Life Skills program includes 7-8 hours of parent education and training, 18-20 hours of finance and budgeting, 18-20 hours of the Genesis Process recovery class, and a series of one-hour courses on communication, job preparedness and interviewing, health and leisure, cooking, shopping for bargains, community resources, and others. Rent Well © is a 12 –hour tenant education course addressing obstacles to housing.
Focused Skill Building: Case management is a crucial point of contact with shelter residents. Case managers ensure progress through all aspects of the shelter program through weekly one-on-one encounters with individuals. The ultimate goal is foster change through accountability and support, referrals and advocacy. Case managers help their clients make their goals reality.
Relational Healing and Spiritual Development
The heart of the My Father’s House program lies in the belief and practice that true healing, true change, can takes place best within community…through safe, healthy relationships. We are committed to My Father’s House being an environment where the emotional and spiritual needs of our residents are also met.
Relational Healing: From administrative staff, to case managers and counselors, to clerical and maintenance staff or volunteers, we seek to engage with residents on a personal level. Staff and volunteer training and supervision focus on healthy boundaries as a priority. We seek to create a safe space, safe relationships, where clients can look honestly at their own hurts, habits and hang-ups. We work tirelessly to achieve that level of trust with our residents, and are committed foremost to do no harm.
Spiritual Development: We do not require church attendance. We do encourage families to be part of a local church where they feel loved and accepted. To begin a new start with a church family for support and encouragment beyond their stay at My Father’s House. Our heart as an organization is to see every resident in relationship with the true source of all healing and change, Jesus Christ. We network with local churches, provide in-house chapel services, and prayer support for those seeking a relationship with God.
