Thinking BIG: Letter from the President

David J. Schwartz in The Magic of Thinking Big said, “Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. All of us at Family Promise agree with him.

From our beginnings 30 years ago, we have supported homeless families and adults by providing shelter and services. During that time our country has had many programs to address homelessness, yet we are still very far from solving the problem. It seems that many of the programs instituted by government are simply Band-Aids with high rates of recurring homelessness. In fact, nearly every major U.S. city that has recently implemented a rapid rehousing program has seen homelessness increase by an average of 20%.

That is why Family Promise of Bergen County provides a broad and holistic approach to this problem. We have learned that we need to address the myriad issues that homeless families face—and we do this with one-on-one case management, workshops on financial literacy and empowerment, assistance with child care and transportation, and much more. Other than Family Promise, there is no other organization or government agency in our county that addresses this for working families who have become homeless.

But the systemic issue that we face is a lack of affordable housing.

So, it’s time for us to think big . . . and we have started to do just that. We need to lead the way by advocating for affordable housing that, coupled with our holistic offering of services, can provide homeless working families the opportunity to become, simply, working families. We need to find ways to provide more transitional and permanent housing. Our vision is big . . . End homelessness for working families in Bergen County.
We expect our families to think big . . . to work hard, investing in themselves, so that they can move ahead into a brighter future . . . and the Board and staff are thinking big as well.

By thinking big, we will transform the world . . . starting right here in Bergen County.