Family Promise aims to end family homelessness

Family homelessness can be hard to see: A parent sleeping in a car between shifts, a mom and kids bouncing between couches or a family one bill away from losing a roof.

“We call it the invisible crisis,” said Jory Gwasdoff, executive director of Family Promise of San Joaquin County. “But when you mobilize a community and connect the dots, you can solve it.”

Family Promise is part of a national network founded in 1986 in New Jersey. The local affiliate launched its shelter program in 2022 with a model that taps existing space in faith communities — churches, synagogues and other congregations — after hours. Volunteers provide meals and hospitality in the evenings; in the mornings, families head to the nonprofit’s resource center for showers, laundry and case management.

“We’re not trying to build an expensive shelter,” Gwasdoff said. “We use what already exists and the people who want to help.”

A rotating roof — and a plan

Congregations “host” for one week at a time and set up temporary, private spaces for up to four families — 14 people total, a limit based on the affiliate’s 15-passenger van (driver plus 14 seats). Families arrive around 6 p.m. for dinner and fellowship, sleep safely on-site, then are transported back to the resource center by 6 a.m. The next week, the rotation moves to another congregation.

Spreading the work out is intentional.

“When everyone does a small part, it adds up,” Gwasdoff said. More than 1,200 volunteers contribute over 11,000 hours a year through more than 30 congregations across Lodi, Stockton and Manteca, supported by more than 75 community partners. Each hosting site has a volunteer coordinator who manages details including food allergies and family sizes and recruits meal teams, evening hosts and an overnight presence. (The program is drug- and alcohol-free.)

But the heart of the model is case management. “This is a working program,” Gwasdoff said. Each family gets an individualized plan with weekly goals related to navigating child care and health care, securing income, building a budget through financial literacy, applying for vouchers and searching for housing. “Our goal is sustainable independence. When a family graduates, we want them never to be homeless again.”

Family Promise frames its shelter as a 90-day program, with flexibility for families who keep up with weekly goals. In 2024, 85% of shelter families exited into stable housing, in an average of 84 days.

Prevention that sticks

Not every crisis requires shelter. In 2024, the affiliate launched eviction prevention to keep families housed when a one-time setback threatens stability. Family Promise raised $40,000 to help 28 families — including 59 children and 96 people total — with targeted rent or utility assistance, paired with intensive case management. “All 28 are still in their homes today,” Gwasdoff said.

In 2025, the nonprofit raised another $40,000 and has already assisted 26 families; as of now, none have returned to homelessness.

“This program isn’t for anyone who’s simply behind on rent,” he said. “It’s for families who would otherwise be stable — who had a loss, a medical bill, something unexpected. Prevention reduces trauma for kids and leads to better long-term outcomes.”

A growing local need

The scope is daunting. For the 2024-25 school year, the San Joaquin County Office of Education reported 8,466 students experienced homelessness at some point — about 2,000 more than the previous year, and 4,000 more than two years ago, according to data Gwasdoff received from the office’s homeless liaison.

“Families are often underserved in the homeless response because they’re less visible,” he said. “They’re in cars or doubled up with relatives. Our job is to make sure they’re safe tonight — and connected to the right person and the right form tomorrow.”

Family Promise keeps families together. A “family unit” is at least one adult who is the parent or legal guardian of a child. Unlike shelters that separate by gender, the program houses each family in its own space. And while congregations host the shelter nights, there is no proselytizing. “Some families are nervous about being in religious spaces,” Gwasdoff said. “What they find is warmth and welcome, without expectations.”

The people behind the program

Gwasdoff grew up in Stockton and graduated from Lincoln High School. During the pandemic, he was living in San Francisco when he lost his job. He started volunteering remotely with Family Promise as the local effort tried to get off the ground. In May 2021, he pitched himself to the board to lead the launch.

“I told them, you need passion and someone who will get this started,” he said. He moved back with his now-wife; by late 2021, the team had secured a resource center space and started hiring. Today, the staff is three full-time employees: Gwasdoff, a program manager, a case manager and three part-time van drivers.

Funding is community-led: Monthly donors contributing at levels from $5 to $250 account for about 15% of the budget, and larger grants have come from the Cortopassi Family Foundation, St. Joseph Spirit Club, Raymus Foundation and Sunlight Giving, along with periodic offerings from congregations.

The affiliate also hosts events, including its free Family Fun Festival each August at Central United Methodist Church, which draws roughly 500 people for performances, therapy dogs, face painting and resource tables. This year, Family Promise added its first gala to support programs.

‘A place we could call home’

Gwasdoff keeps the focus on families. He read from a graduate’s note: Ramona, a mother of two, described arriving “depressed, lonely and helpless,” then finding “only loving, kind and supportive people” at Family Promise. “It was a place we could call home,” she wrote. She is now enrolled in school to become a teacher.

“Home,” Gwasdoff added, “is the space where you feel safe and can thrive with your family. Our job is to help families get there — and stay there.”

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