History
THE BEGINNING
Karen Olson was rushing to a business meeting when she passed a homeless woman on the street. On impulse, Karen bought her a sandwich.The woman, Millie, accepted the sandwich but asked for something more — a chance to be heard. What she heard made her understand that homelessness brought profound feelings of diminished self-worth and disconnection from society.
1988: THE NETWORK GOES NATIONAL
When Karen learned that homelessness was affecting families right in her community in New Jersey, she brought together people in need and people who wanted to help. As word spread, New Jersey congregations formed a first and then a second network. In 1988, the National Interfaith Hospitality Network was formed to take the program nationwide.
2003: IHN BECOMES FAMILY PROMISE
The National Interfaith Hospitality Network changed its name to Family Promise to reflect the broad range of programs offered and the vision of ending family homelessness. The name refers to the promise, or the commitment, that communities make to families in need. And it also refers to the promise, or the potential, inherent in every family.
2012: FAMILY PROMISE OF HALL COUNTY IS FOUNDED
On Thanksgiving Day in 2010, Lindsey McCamy and her family were in Dalton, Georgia for the holidays helping her parents serve dinner to families that were sleeping in their church as part of the Family Promise Affiliate there.
Lindsey returned to Gainesville, Georgia with a vision: to open a Family Promise Affiliate right in Gainesville. Others caught the vision, and Family Promise of Hall County (FPHC) was founded in 2012, turning that vision into a reality.
2019: FPHC MOVES TO THE HOMESTEAD
In 2019, after a successful capital campaign, FPHC purchased The Homestead, a 19,000 square foot structure designed to house all programs and services under one roof.
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With the help of community partners and local congregations, FPHC provides complete wrap-around services, including housing, meals, case management, childcare, life-skills classes, and more all from the centralized Homestead campus.
