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. Karen stayed with Millie and listened. What she heard made her understand that homelessness brought profound feelings of diminished self-worth and disconnection from society. Soon after, Karen and her two sons began delivering lunches to homeless people on the streets of New York.
2005: August 1, 2005
Connie Plemmons facilitates the first Family Promise of Baldwin County core team meeting. She invited many leaders in the faith community together to begin the hard work to get this affiliate established.
August 2007: Bill Ward is named first board chair
Bill, along with several other core committee members, worked monthly to secure hosting and support congregations. They raised financial resources and looked at possibilities of a location for a day center.
November 2007: Mike Brokowsky is hired as our Executive Director
Mike came to serve the homeless in Baldwin County with a big heart and a desire to be a mentor for those less fortunate.
December 2007 Our first "Chocolate Affair" fundraiser was held to raise money for our cause.
Candi Lake, was one of the first committee members to bring up the idea to hold a gala with the "Chocolate Affair" theme. (Little did they know that it would become our annual signature fundraiser event)
January 2008: We opened the doors to our day center and served our first family.
Catholic Social Services loaned us the building to serve as our first day center and from there, we served our first family.
Pictured: Jamie and her son, Nolan, at 2018 Chocolate Affair
April 2012: New Case Manager was hired.
Jamie Foote joined us to assist families with reaching their goals of obtaining affordable homes and other resources in Baldwin County. Jamie has assisted the Executive Director in developing helpful solutions in addressing family homelessness in Baldwin County through various projects over the years.
June 2012: FPBC purchased our Impact Day Center
We currently serve families with children through our duplex which we were able to purchase in 2012, thanks to the Impact 100 Baldwin Grant. This day center is the base of operations for providing families with a respite during the day, as well as a place to take care of their household needs, while receiving services from staff.
Picture of Impact Day Center in 2012.
December 2018: TEN YEARS of serving families!
Our 10th Anniversary of serving families in need in Baldwin County and our 10th annual Chocolate Affair gala event was held at the Daphne Civic Center.
March 2019: Our Second Director comes to work
After Mike's retirement, we welcome our second Director for Family Promise of Baldwin County. Beth Biggs has been a part of Family Promise for over 12 years, and is passionate about being the voice for family homelessness in our community.
Pictured: Beth Biggs, at the Chocolate Affair in 2019.
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Two-Stall Shower Trailer
April 2020: Received Two Stall Shower Trailer
Family Promise of Baldwin County, Inc provides shelter through an interfaith hospitality network. What is an interfaith hospitality network? We have partnered with local churches who provide a ministry committed to providing hospitality (meals and sleeping arrangements) to families experiencing homelessness and participating in our shelter program. St. James Episcopal Church in Fairhope helped us purchase a two-stall shower trailer so the families can take a shower at their church. We are able to transport the shower trailer to each church that doesn't have showers.
May 2020: Homeless No More Project
Beginning in 2020, during a time of major uncertainty, our organization has been blessed with the opportunity to offer a new part to our program; helping families move in. These funds help us move families into their own homes faster than before, because we are able to assist with deposit and first month's rental assistant for qualifying families. This new program is very exciting!
Picture is from moving day for one of the families we assisted with moving into their new home.
2020 -Hired Housing Stability Case Manager
The need for additional staff comes with program expansion. In 2020, Family Promise of Baldwin County began interviewing for a case manager that would be the point of contact for families in need of housing assistance, for prevention and rehousing services. When a family moves in to their own, Family Promise staff help with furniture donated from our supporters and financial assistance is provided for deposit and first month's rent. Katelyn Stegall has been with us since 2022 and has worked with many families with housing stability.
September 2021: Received Clayton Home Donation
Family Promise of Baldwin County was chosen to receive a modular home from Clayton Home. The home was placed on the Northside of our day center and is used as the next phase for families who become eligible for transitional housing from our shelter program. It is named the Promise House. See Video of the groundbreaking!
Promise House donated by Clayton Homes in 2021.
August 2022: Tiny Home Purchased
Family Promise of Baldwin County, Inc purchased a tiny home to be utilized in certain circumstances as a one-week "hotel" stay for eligible families. It was named "Hope Hotel" and has been occupied by small families. It is located on our new property and is part of our 5-year strategic plan.
"Hope Hotel" Tiny Home
September 2022: New Property
Family Promise of Baldwin County, Inc purchased the 7 1/2 acre property located directly behind our day center. This property has given us the opportunity to develop a community to provide workforce housing to families in need. Located on the property is a manufactured home that is used as a transitional housing unit for families in our shelter program and in need of an extended length of time for goals.
Hope House - Transitional Housing Program
