Last week we were joined by Mark Kuhns of East Penn Neighbors Helping Neighbors. What is EPNHN and how are they making our community stronger? This grass roots, Emmaus based 501(c)3 non-profit organization works with dozens of families in our community who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Mark shared the history of how EPNHN came to be, how the program works to give families a hand during a very challenging time in their lives and the success they have shared with these families. By visiting their website http://www.epnhn.org/home.html I gathered some key points to share with you.
Their mission:
"To serve these families through multi-faceted short-term assistance in order to help restore and sustain healthy, independent living."
How they do it:
" After an initial assessment to identify the needs of a family, a family is welcomed into the temporary transitional housing and registered EPNHN Volunteers with the skills to help meet the family’s needs will be contacted and asked to work as part of a support team assigned to the family. Regular meetings with the family will be coordinated by a case manager who will be assigned to be the single point of contact for the case. It is difficult to anticipate the length of time each family will require the temporary housing and the help of each member of the support team, but a plan with timelines will be written when the case opens. This model is proving successful, having helped transition three families thus far into places of greater independence!"
How you can help:
"Volunteers are also needed to provide professional services pro-bono or at a reduced rate, including (but not limited to) career counseling, budgeting, financial planning, debt reduction, addressing outstanding tax issues, securing affordable housing, relationship and family systems counseling, parenting and/or marriage skill development, medical and dental care, addressing mental health and addiction issues, nutrition and fitness help, and automotive sales and repair. If you are interested in volunteering to help by providing a professional service, please contact us!"
Use the link to sign up to help http://www.epnhn.org/get-involved.html or contribute by making a donation click this link http://www.epnhn.org/donate.html
Take a few minutes to check out their website and learn about the assistance they provide. May we never take for granted the beds tuck our children into at night, the meals on our plates, and the place we call home. Thank you East Penn Neighbors Helping Neighbors for the tireless work you do to give families and their children solid ground to build a limitless future upon.