Every family deserves a place to call home.
PHFS is here to help families get housing, and then keep it.
Dear friends,
During this season of holiday gratitude, we want you to know that we are so grateful for your past support of PHFS. Investments from community members like you have allowed PHFS to be on the forefront of providing innovative services for over ten years.
PHFS is known for pioneering our upstream approach to preventing homelessness, for being early adopters of the housing first approach, and for integrating trauma-informed design and architecture into the built environment at our Family Village campus.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of need for our programs. Over 3,300 students experience homelessness each year in Multnomah County, and right now hundreds of families are on a waitlist for shelter and help moving back into housing.
When you do the math, you start to see why so many families need help: because many jobs don’t provide a living wage, and housing is really expensive. Families pay too much of their income on housing and don’t have enough left over for their family’s household needs. Many families just can’t make ends meet and end up experiencing homelessness with their kids.
That’s where PHFS comes in. Ideally, PHFS hears from families right before they lose their housing, so our homeless prevention program can help before the crisis hits and help families keep their homes. If not, families have a safe space to shelter together at Family Village where trauma-informed design helps them heal from the stress and trauma of homelessness. While in shelter, parents work with a housing specialist to move quickly back into housing. We provide a rent subsidy for at least a year to help families stabilize in housing.
Our housing team builds trusting relationships with families so we can support them in accomplishing their goals and improving their lives – like getting a new job that makes more money, or going back to school to learn a trade that pays a living wage. What we do works - 90% of families stay housed long-term.
We have adapted our programs to serve families even during the covid-19 pandemic. Please continue your investment and make a donation to PHFS’ critical programs that empower homeless families with children to get back into housing – and stay there.
Warmly,
Brandi Tuck
Executive Director
P.S. Over the last year, our critical services helped 1,234 kids and parents end their homelessness for good. With your support, we can help even more families next year.
Do The Math
This is a monthly budget of a family in our programs. PHFS subsidizes this family’s rent so they can afford the rest of their expenses.
PHFS works with families to help them get better jobs and find more affordable housing so they can keep their housing long-term.
What’s missing?
Families often live paycheck to paycheck. This family couldn’t budget for emergencies, savings, or after school activities for their kids.
