Family Promise Holds Open House for New Shelter for Homeless Families in Lawrence, Kansas

Several people gathered Tuesday, November 12, 2024, for an open house at a new shelter for homeless families. The shelter is owned and operated by the nonprofit Family Promise.

Family Promise in Lawrence recently finished converting a longtime day care building into the shelter, and the open house marked the project’s completion. The facility, located at 200 Mount Hope Court, is intended to house up to six homeless families at any given time. It includes bedrooms, multiple kitchens and a playground for kids.

Steven Hertzog, publisher of Lawrence Business Magazine, said the project means a lot to the community. Brad Finkeldei, a city commissioner and former president of Family Promise, said the organization holds a very special place in his heart and that he has appreciated its work for a long time. Speaking on behalf of the City Commission and the County Commission, and referring to the plan “A Place for Everyone,” Finkeldei said, “Family Promise is central to helping those families, and this is a big part of that.”

The shelter will have six bedrooms, each with a queen bed and a set of bunk beds, along with a private bathroom. The maximum capacity will be 24 guests, in addition to staff. The property will also significantly reduce the need to move the families currently receiving shelter through Family Promise.

Before the nonprofit announced plans for its own shelter, it had housed homeless families in churches since its founding 15 years ago. Families stayed for one week at a single church or house of worship, where they slept and ate, then packed their belongings and moved to the next congregation on the group’s schedule. Congregations opening their doors to families in need over those years reflects the hospitality described in Matthew 25:35.

Interim Executive Director Brenda Wahl said the rotating system worked for what the organization needed at the time, but it was challenging for families who had to move back and forth and share bathrooms. “This shelter will provide a safe and stable place for families for the time they need shelter,” Wahl said. “Shelter is not the answer to homelessness; we know that; it’s housing. But this is the place where they can take a breath, where they can take care of their families and they can do the work that they need to do to get into housing again.”

She said Family Promise hopes to welcome the first family to the shelter by the end of November, before the first snow of the year.

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