April 25, 2020 - For Immediate Release
Family Promise of Hawaiʻi and the Synchrony Foundation Announce Pilot Program to Combat Homelessness
Family Promise of Hawaiʻi, a local non-profit, and Synchrony, a leading consumer financial services company, announced the pilot launch of a new shelter diversion initiative aimed to help families combat homelessness, an especially important effort amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
Local communities are adopting shelter diversion strategies to successfully keep families in housing and out of emergency shelter systems. Shelter diversion helps end homelessness by prioritizing housing-based intervention, preserving community resources for those who need it most, and preventing the stress and trauma of shelter where other options exist.
According to data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), at least 30 percent of households seeking shelter can successfully remain in or be placed in housing. And diversion costs are significantly less than the cost of shelter, rapid rehousing, or transitional housing, per a NAEH study.
The Synchrony Foundation has committed $1.2 million to support ten Family Promise Affiliates around the country. Each Affiliate will receive virtual shelter diversion training and $50,000 in funding, most of which will be used to directly help struggling families, including assistance with security and utility deposits, rental arrears, transportation, groceries, and more. At the conclusion of the year-long pilot, Family Promise will develop best practices to roll out to Affiliates across the country.
“Synchrony is proud to partner with Family Promise to serve struggling families and children, especially in this time of crisis,” said Denise Yap, Synchrony Senior Vice President and Corporate Citizenship Leader. “This shelter diversion initiative will help prevent homelessness and equip families with the tools they need to achieve stability in their lives.”
Synchrony’s philanthropic initiative called Families that Work, provides grant support to non-profits that are making a difference in the lives of low-income working families, tackling challenges such as family homelessness, economic security, hunger and out-of-school care.
Following an RFP process, ten Family Promise Affiliates were selected to participate in the pilot program, as part of Family Promise’s A Future Begins at Home prevention and stabilization housing initiative. Family Promise of Hawaiʻi is one of the ten Family Promise Affiliates participating in the pilot.
"The diversion program will reduce the number of families entering the shelter system," says Sam Church, Family Promise of Hawaiʻi Executive Director. "This will ease the strain on the shelter system and reduce waiting lists, benefitting both the families served and the community.”
About Family Promise of Hawai’i
Family Promise of Hawaiʻi envisions an Oʻahu where vulnerable families have equitable access to housing. Founded in 2006 to address family homelessness in Windward Oʻahu, Family Promise has grown to serve nearly 3,000 family members across Oʻahu, the majority of them children. Family Promise provides a holistic solution to family homelessness through prevention, shelter, and stabilization services. For more information, visit www.familypromisehawaii.org.
About Synchrony
Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a premier consumer financial services company. We deliver a wide range of specialized financing programs, as well as innovative consumer banking products, across key industries including digital, retail, home, auto, travel, health and pet. Synchrony enables our partners to grow sales and loyalty with consumers. We are one of the largest issuers of private label credit cards in the United States; we also offer co-branded products, installment loans and consumer financing products for small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as healthcare providers.
Synchrony is changing what’s possible through our digital capabilities, deep industry expertise, actionable data insights, frictionless customer experience and customized financing solutions. For more information, visit http://www.synchrony.com and Twitter: @Synchrony.