2 / NOVEMBER 2021 PRIME
Behind the Scenes
Local volunteer quietly moves mountains to help homeless families By Hannah Stiff
K
andi Davis is one of those people who sees a need and quietly meets it. No fanfare or pirouette in the limelight for her. She would rather stay behind the scenes, where the work gets done.
Lucky for a local nonprofit, a decade ago, Davis decided to lend her time and resources to their cause that spoke to her. That local charity was Family Promise, a group devoted to helping families experiencing homelessness. In Davis’ time with Family Promise, she’s seen different executive directors and watched the nonprofit pivot from housing homeless families in churches overnight to static sites around the Gallatin Valley. She’s also seen the need grow along with the valley’s growth. And though Davis has been helping for years, she is just the champion Family Promise needs now. The nonprofit is throttling toward the finish line of a $6 million building that will co-locate an early learning center for 96 children and a day center to serve Family Promise
families and others. The 18,400 feet facility is located in the new development behind Lowe’s at the corner of Tschache Lane and Sacco Drive. Family Promise Executive Director Christel Chvilicek is hoping for a January grand opening, with an open house sometime this fall. With a breakneck year of raising $5 million behind them, Davis and Chvilicek are hopeful for a final round of generosity to raise the last $900,000 needed for the building. “A lot of our big donations came from Kandi’s connections and her passion for talking to people about Family Promise,” Chvilicek says. “I don’t know how you measure that. I would say that almost every day Kandi does something for Family Promise.” In a recent meeting at Chvilicek’s temporary office, Davis deflects the praise. “Oh, I talk about Family Promise every day,” Davis says. “The community needs to know about it.” What the community needs to know, Davis explains, is that homelessness is often much closer than most people care to imagine.
“There’s a statistic I often share,” Chvilicek says. “Forty percent of Americans, prior to COVID, were $400 away from experiencing homelessness.” That statistic, coupled with the stories of families overcoming homelessness to find housing and work, drives Davis to keep working to get the day center finished. “We need a little from a lot of people,” Davis said. “It’s not insurmountable. But it needs to happen right now.” Davis said she is especially interested in the project because she is passionate about helping mothers and children. She and Chvilicek agree that to address and prevent homelessness, you must tackle childcare. “Family Promise is about families that are homeless, but childcare is essential, too,” Davis explains. “If you’re going to help a family, you have to look at childcare, too.” Chvilicek said in the Gallatin Valley childcare is only available for one out of every three preschool-aged children. That is a huge barrier to parents being able to work. “Seventy percent of (Family
