Born to parents struggling with substance abuse, Jaimie Phelps was a rudderless child.

As a young adult, she also battled addiction.

“I had a history of drug use,” Phelps said. “I lost my children, I was pregnant when I went through the (Family Promise) program.”

Phelps, of Lansford, completed the program in 2016.

“I had housing, my life was stable, I got my children back, I was able to go back to school,” she said.

She was hired by Family Promise in 2017 as a van driver and in 2019 became a caseworker.

Phelps said she was studying to be a social worker but changed her major to nonprofit management/business administration after seeing turnover in Family Promise’s executive director position.

Phelps said the goal of the board and staff is to provide homeless families with the stability and tools they need to get back on their feet.

“I just loved the program at Family Promise,” Phelps said. “I knew what it did for me, and what it could do for others if they were just given the opportunity and the support network.”

Former executive director and current board President Natalie Bojko was the role model Phelps lacked growing up.

“Natalie was such an important part of my life,” Phelps said. “She taught me how important it is to have strong boundaries, and how to take control of my life.”

The Family Promise program provides counseling and helps parents learn to budget. CareNet provides parenting classes.

Bojko is on the board of directors with Brandy Frey, Kayla Semmel, Jessica Bargilione, James Markley and Amanda Massay.

There have been seven executive directors over the last five years and the position is open now - the job is listed on indeed.com. Phelps is serving as the interim director.

“There is a very high turnover rate,” Bojko said. “I think each executive director would tell you a different reason for it. Some have moved, some would say they needed to commit time elsewhere, for some the board didn’t feel it was a good fit.”

Home Sweet (Temporary) Home

The need for shelters is growing.

Family Promise housed 37 people last year, and it doubled that by the end of this May.

“As soon as one family leaves, another moves in,” Bojko said.

The average stay is 126 days, Phelps said.

Family Promise, in the former St. Francis of Assisi rectory at 140 W. Mill St., Nesquehoning, houses four families composed of 15 people, its maximum capacity according to zoning rules.

The former church, next door, is being transformed as a shelter for homeless women.

A look back

Family Promise of Carbon County was formed in 2009 by a group of volunteers led by Larissa Kimmel, who learned about the program when she visited Family Promise of Monroe County.

The umbrella organization was founded in 1986 by Karen Olson of New Jersey, who saw the need and started the program after encountering a homeless woman. Family Promise now has about 200 sites across the country.

Family Promise of Carbon County was at 167 S. Third St., Lehighton, which Trinity Lutheran Church rented to them for $1 a year.

Families came to the center for showers, meals, job searches and other daily routines.

At night, they went to area churches, where they had dinner and stayed overnight.

But some churches closed, and those remaining struggled with volunteers, mostly older folks who had difficulties sleeping on air mattresses or cots.

The organization that helps the homeless needed a home.

In 2019, Family Promise approached county commissioners to craft a three-pronged proposal: The organization would move into a static location, expand their services, and establish a single women’s shelter.

The county agreed and in July 2021 granted Family Promise $80,000 to buy the former church and rectory from the Diocese of Allentown.

“Our families stayed in hotels throughout COVID,” Bojko said.

Phelps, Bojko, volunteers and board members cleared rubbish, painted, patched holes and ripped up old carpeting.

Then, they moved the contents of their previous home.

The shelter has nine part-time staff and two full-time employees, Phelps said.

The part-time staff earn about $10 an hour. The full-time staff earn $35,000 a year.

In November 2021, the organization moved its office to Nesquehoning from its Lehighton site.

Families began moving in in February, Bojko said.

Shelter from the storms of life

“There is a lack of resources, especially for homeless women,” Phelps said.

In order to open a women’s shelter, pipe leaks need to be fixed and plaster repaired; the space needs to be remodeled to build bedrooms and bathrooms, and the kitchen needs an upgrade.

County commissioners are studying the plan as they consider approving the release of $163,000 in Community Development Block Grants money to perform and environmental study before the project can move forward.

The sticking point for two of the commissioners is the lack of a permanent director.

Watching their pennies

The organization receives grants, including federal Emergency Solution Grants, Home For Good, Community Development Block Grants, and donations from people and civic organizations, foundational grants, and contributions from organizations, such as United Way.

In 2021, Carbon County contributed $58,729.10 to Family Promise, said Controller Mark A. Sverchek.

The organization is mapping out its budget, and expects to end the year in the black.

In addition to grants and donations, Family Promise holds fundraisers, including a walk, run and bike ride on Sept. 10 in Weissport.

For information on the event, call 610-379-4757 or visit the Family Promise of Carbon County website or Facebook page.

Area women pray for women’s homeless shelter to be completed