Family Promise NSV Celebrates Family Promise Week 2023 and One-Year Anniversary

Family Promise of Northern Shenandoah Valley (NSV) will host a week-long event to raise awareness about the crisis of family homelessness during National Family Promise Week, which runs October 15 to October 22, 2023, to highlight an issue many call “an invisible crisis.”

Every year, more than three million children in America experience homelessness, and one in 16 become homeless before they reach the first grade. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated an existing affordable housing crisis and has increased economic instability, increasing the risk of homelessness for families.

Family Promise Week will highlight this crisis through special events and social media posts. This week coincides with Family Promise NSV’s celebration of the organization’s one-year anniversary as a national Family Promise affiliate.

Community members are invited to participate in Night Without a Bed. The official date of Night Without a Bed is Saturday, October 21, 2023, although it can happen anytime that week. Youth groups, civic groups, businesses, agencies, and individual families are invited to spend one night without a bed to spread awareness for families experiencing homelessness. Teams or individual families can use a building or backyard to pitch a tent and sleep in a sleeping bag, spend a night inside your cars, sleep in your living room on the floor or couch, or any other way to create an environment where you do not normally sleep.

Individuals and Teams can register online for the Night Without a Bed event and receive an information packet and facilitators guide: lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/wb86vuy.

Participants and the community at large are invited to donate to FPNSV to help support families with children experiencing homelessness. Donations can be made at https://giv.li/ye2dpf  or by sending a check to FPNSV, 131 Market St., Winchester, VA 22601. How Your Donations Help Families in Need: $100 can help with household utilities; $250 will help fund our Prevention & Stabilization program for at-risk families; or $500 will help pay for a week in a local motel.

The agency is holding a Lunch and Learn on October 19^th from 12:00 – 1:30 PM.  The community is invited to attend to learn ways to join the fight to end family homelessness. The event will be held in the Eagles Board Room on the Our Health Campus, located at 329 N. Cameron Street in Winchester.

Topics will include data on the number of homeless families living in Winchester and Frederick County, current needs at Family Promise NSV, a matching grant opportunity, and how local churches, civic groups, and community members can help. The event is free to attend.  People interested in attending should RSVP by emailing jennifer@familypromisensv.org or by calling (540) 323-8038.