Without the help of Family Promise of Carbon County, Kim Philipovich believes she wouldn’t be here.

“If it weren’t them, I most likely would be dead,” she admitted.

Less than a year ago, Philipovich was homeless. She had lost her house, lost custody of her children and lost her car.

Down and out, she camped at a local tent city. After she was forced to leave, she lived on the streets, hoping that someone would allow her to stay on a couch for a night or two.

She felt hopeless.

As frigid temperatures descended upon the area in January, Philipovich stayed at a warming shelter in Weissport.

“They opened up a church for a cold front,” she said. “At that point, I had no place else to go.”

To make matters worse, Philipovich was sick. Bronchitis was plaguing her, and she could do little else than sleep.

While at the warming station, she received a call from her youngest son. He alerted her that a custody hearing would be held the following month. It was sooner than Philipovich and the teen had expected.

“If I didn’t have a place by then, my youngest was going to get adopted out,” she said.

A woman at the warming shelter reached out to Family Promise. Philipovich was taken there on Jan. 27.

At the shelter, she would have a roof over her head, meals and support services.

Her stay was anything but easy at first.

“I was angry. I was angry at myself. I was angry at everything going on. I wasn’t exactly in the best of spirits at the time,” she said.

But it was Cathy Lamm, executive director of Family Promise, along with case manager Heather Mullen, Family Promise staff and families staying at the shelter that turned her around.

“They were such a strong support system for me in order for me to do what I needed to do to get my boys back,” Philipovich said.

With the assistance, she learned how to get back on her feet. In time, she was seeing her two teenage sons for overnight visits.

Next came permanent housing.

“I was put in a program where I was able to find this place in Lansford,” she said. “There were points that I never thought I’d get to a house ever again.”

She’s been living there since July 3. Her sons are with her.

“And for the first time in my life, all my bills are paid,” she added.

Philipovich said Family Promise encourages its clients to help themselves — just like she learned to do.

“It’s a wonderful program if you do what you’re supposed to do, and you take initiative,” she said. “You have to do the hard work. Cathy (Lamm) is there to give you the tools that you need — you just have to do the work.”

While at Family Promise, Philipovich met a woman who would become her best friend, along with others she now holds close.

“I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world,” she said. “The people and friends that I’ve made there, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Now Philipovich is giving back to the organization.

She’s helped with a recent rummage sale, and even dressed up as the Easter Bunny for an Easter celebration. She answers phones on busy days and visits clients — many of whom are in the same predicament that she was in.

“If they’re looking for houses or whatever, I help them on the computer. I’m there and available,” she said.

She plans to spend her Thanksgiving there, too.

“I still have the amazing support team and support system over at Family Promise,” Philipovich said.

Lamm remembers meeting Philipovich when she first arrived.

“Kim was standoffish at first, which was understandable considering what she had just been through,” Lamm said. “But after a couple of weeks, Kim started to feel better and she started to help others. Kim then took charge of helping with household chores and motivating other guests. I believe her helping others at the shelter helped her to heal emotionally.”

Lamm said Philipovich has a place to call home for Thanksgiving — something she hasn’t had in years.

“However, she is choosing to volunteer at our shelter that day,” Lamm said. “Kim is great person. She worked very hard while she was here and continues to donate her time at the shelter.”

Philipovich said that Lamm has “one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I would put every last minute of spare time that I have into Family Promise. And that wouldn’t even begin to give back a little bit as to what they gave me, in my opinion,” Philipovich said. “If I would have had to stay out there on the streets, and go from wherever I had to go to wherever I had to go to survive, I probably wouldn’t have made it.”