FAMILY PROMISE OF WAUKESHA COUNTY, INC. JOE NETTESHEIM Executive Director, Family Promise of Waukesha County, Inc WAUKESHA COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE, INC. | WAUKESHA.ORG NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Q: Describe your organization and its mission. A: How does a parent read a bedtime story to his or her child or help with homework if they are living in their car? Family Promise of Waukesha County strives to support families and children who are economically vulnerable from experiencing homelessness or stemming the impact of homelessness. We do so by working to prevent family homelessness with financial assistance or by offering shelter. Our response to homelessness is grassroots and community based. We are pleased that faith communities, businesses, and civic groups all participate in supporting our shelter. It is their way of saying we will not tolerate the destructive impact of homelessness on families and our community. Q: What are some of your biggest challenges or obstacles? A: The biggest challenge is the current housing market. There are not enough workforce or affordable housing units available for low-income families. Transportation is another issue. Many of the families we serve do not have a dependable vehicle. As much as we encourage public transportation it is difficult to exist in Waukesha County without a reliable vehicle. Finally, we work to advocate for those who are experiencing homelessness because a fair number of people do not believe there are homeless families in Waukesha County. Many who do acknowledge there is homelessness have stereotypes or misunderstandings about why families are homeless. Q: What have been your biggest successes? A: That 93 percent of the families we assist with financial assistance remain in their homes. Sixty nine percent of the families we serve in shelter exit into independent housing. We have been successful at breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness for many families. Preventing chronic or generational homelessness is 20
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