Family Promise of Las Vegas

National—
Rushing by Grand Central Station to a business meeting in 1982, Karen Olson noticed a homeless woman she'd passed before. This time, she decided impulsively to buy a sandwich for the woman. When she gave it to her, the woman reached for Karen's hand and began a conversation. For Karen, the conversation broke through a generalized conception of "the homeless" to the realization that "homeless people are people with hopes and dreams like you and me. The only difference is they have had one more calamity than they can handle." Karen talked with her two young sons, and together they made sandwiches and began handing them out to homeless people in New York City. The rest, as they say, is history.

Karen began working in her local area to mobilize religious communities to provide homeless families with shelter and meals and help them get back on their feet. In 1989 this became a national nonprofit organization, the National Interfaith Hospitality Network (now Family Promise).

Within ten months, 11 area congregations came forward to provide hospitality space within their buildings. The local YMCA agreed to provide showers and a day center for families. A car dealer discounted a van. On October 27, 1986, the first Interfaith Hospitality Network opened its doors.

By 1989, National Interfaith Hospitality Network was formed to bring the program to other areas where neighbors could work together to help homeless families. By the year 2000, National IHN had expanded its services outside the original scope of its IHN program to include family mentoring, a program for interfaith advocacy and a program named, "Just Neighbors". With these new incentives on board, National IHN became Family Promise.

Las Vegas—

In April of 1996, Julia Ochiogrosso started the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Las Vegas. (This was the same year that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This created the Block Grant Program of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.) Supported primarily by Catholic Worker, it quickly grew into a full-fledged IHN. The original Day Site was located at 500 West Van Buren, in a Historic home built in 1933.

In March of 2003, IHN of Las Vegas was awarded Best Community Organization by the Las Vegas Review Journal's"Best of Las Vegas" Reader's Poll. Where else could we go from here? Well, shortly thereafter, ground was broken and construction began on a new Day Site located right next door to the original IHN Day Site. Its dedication was held in January, 2004.

In 2005, IHN of Las Vegas, also became a member of the National Family Promise and changed its name to Family Promise of Las Vegas. Sad times followed when, in May of 2006, we were informed that, due to a change in zoning restrictions, we would not be allowed to continue operations out of the new Day Site. We would have to move.

Thanks to the City of Las Vegas and its Mayor, Oscar Goodman, we found a new home at 320 South 9th Street in downtown Las Vegas. Pictured here, Mayor Goodman cuts the ribbon to our new Day Site in December of 2006. The public support for our new facility was overwhelming.

Renovation of the new site was done by help from the City of Las Vegas, Concordia Homes and Wayne "Bob the Builder" Robinson. It was a whirlwind job that took just a few short months to complete and we have a new home. And what is a home without its family?