Family Promise Summer Kick-Off Carnival

Family Promise of Gallatin Valley (FPGV) empowers families experiencing housing insecurities to secure a safe, affordable home, a livelihood and the chance to build a better future for their children. They are the only organization in Gallatin Valley that is singularly focused on serving families with housing insecurity.

On June 15, Family Promise is hosting the Summer Kick-Off Carnival from 1 – 4 p.m. at 1603 Tschache Ln. Because of the generosity of carnival sponsors, this event is open to all families regardless of their ability to pay, however, a donation of toilet paper, diapers or cleaning supplies is greatly appreciated. Last year the carnival welcomed nearly 400 kids, and Family Promise looks forward to ushering in the excitement of summer with even more children this year.

Family Promise National began 30 years ago as a local initiative in Summit, NJ. The model was so successful and replicable, it quickly became a national movement. Today, there are more than 200 affiliates across 43 states and Family Promise is the leading national nonprofit addressing the issue of family homelessness. While they all share the same mission, each affiliate operates as an independent nonprofit.

The Gallatin Valley affiliate was incorporated in 2004, replicating the original service delivery model of serving three to four families at a time in a rotating shelter. Amid the pandemic, when the community began experiencing an affordable housing crisis, FPGV quickly yet sustainably expanded their services to serve 680% more families. Last year, they purchased a small college campus that allows them to double the number of families housed each year.

Out of more than 200 affiliates, FPGV is considered the second strongest affiliate in the country based on best practices, financial and HR controls, leadership, fundraising, programs and impact throughout the community. Other affiliates are following FPGV’s lead on how to successfully scale services to meet the growing needs of their communities.

FPGV provides Prevention/Diversion services to divert families from experiencing the trauma of losing their homes. If homelessness becomes imminent, they provide emergency shelter and transitional and workforce housing. FPGV is serving more people than ever before, and they also have an impactful success rate: 81% of families served in the housing programs do not experience homelessness again. Other homeless service providers in the community have begun replicating the FPGV service delivery model.

As part of their holistic service delivery model, they opened Rising Stars Early Learning Center in January of 2022. Rising Stars provides STEMbased early learning to 84 children, ages 4 weeks to 5 years, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

According to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry, licensed childcare capacity meets only 56% of the potential demand, which leaves many families with illegal or unsafe options for childcare, or no options at all. One parent described her dread after her economic situation changed suddenly, “I was in a panic when I found myself in need of childcare unexpectedly. I knew waitlists were full...” Her story is just a vignette of the stress families experience when faced with the impossibility of finding affordable, quality childcare in Bozeman. The childcare crisis in our community—which has been deeply intensified by the sharp rise in population growth and the dramatic rise in costs for housing and living— required urgent action to ensure all families have access to affordable, safe and culturally competent childcare services.