It was their day off. They could have gone shopping or out with family or friends on this Martin Luther King Day, yet seven enthusiastic teachers from the Pascack Valley school district chose to spend their free day volunteering with Family Promise of Bergen County.
Our organization empowers working families who are facing homelessness to become self-sufficient. We do this by providing temporary housing and personalized support. We also address hunger by serving more than 150 meals every day at the Family Promise Walk-in-Dinner in Hackensack.
Practicing the spirit of Martin Luther King’s words — “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” — these teachers had come to our headquarters in Ridgewood to help with a mailing and to bake for the Walk-in Dinner. Having a captive audience, I took this opportunity to tell them about the homeless families with children that Family Promise helps every day. As executive director, I frequently find myself explaining the state of family homelessness in our communities.
Best efforts
“All of these parents once lived in a place they called home. Then, they faced challenges such as a job loss, the breakup of a relationship, or prolonged illness experienced personally or by their child,” I told them. “These families, often living paycheck to paycheck, quickly fell behind in their bills and, despite their best efforts, became homeless.”
Credit: (Bergen Family Promise)About 30% of Bergen County households, including families who are working, are struggling to afford basic necessities including housing, food, child care, health care and transportation, according to a United Way study called ALICE, for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
In fact, NJ Counts, an annual one-day study, found that from 2024-25, Bergen County homelessness rose 15%, almost double the state’s average of 8%.
When hearing the word “homeless,” our first inclination is rarely to envision families with children, let alone those who have jobs. The mothers and fathers in the Family Promise housing programs are strong, smart, dedicated and resilient parents who are striving to regain stability for themselves and their children. They are just like us.
One family
I’d like to share one family’s story.
Annmarie is a single mom with two children who was working full time until she was involved in a serious car accident. Her injuries prevented her from working for several months. During that time, she exhausted her savings and other resources trying to keep the family in their apartment. Eventually, the unthinkable happened; the landlord asked them to leave. Her family was homeless.
Annmarie, having heard of Family Promise, contacted us directly. Together with our family case managers, Annmarie created a plan to get her back on her feet.
Through her hard work and dedication, Annmarie earned a place in one of our New Leaf transitional apartments. She received job training to increase her income and paid her debt, improved her credit score and saved money. She took a second job to ensure that the family would never face homelessness again. With newfound skills and confidence, Annmarie moved into an apartment of her own and began a fresh start with her daughters.
Listening intently to my story, one teacher exclaimed, “This is me! If I went home and the furnace was broken, I could not afford to replace it.” Another added, “I live paycheck to paycheck.” Still another, “I spend most of my paycheck on my rent.”
This is exactly my point.
Many people have common misconceptions about a family that is homeless or in the process of losing their home. The reality is that hard times can happen to anyone. Given the right, or rather the wrong, circumstances, any one of us could find ourselves without a place to live.
By understanding and supporting families facing homelessness when they need our help, we can make a real difference.
After all, they are us.
Kate Duggan is executive director of Family Promise of Bergen County, a nonprofit group that provides temporary housing and personalized support to those facing homelessness and food insecurity.
