PLM Families Together

Jayne Kirkpatrick, Director, Public Affairs
Prepared by: John Boyette, Public Affairs Specialist

For more information: Beth Bordeaux, Executive Director, PLM Families Together,
919-212-1123

June 21, 2012

PLM Families Together Helps Homeless Families
Get Back On Their Feet

For 32 years, PLM Families Together has provided a strong and reliable supporting hand to families in Wake County who experience homelessness. The Raleigh agency’s mission is simple --- “Helping families move from homelessness to independence.”

“We have been incredibly effective in accomplishing our mission,” said Beth Bordeaux, executive director of PLM Families Together. “We don’t want these families recycling into homelessness. We want them to be stable. Right now, we’re at an 83 percent stability rate with our families. I think that is very good.”

Serving on average about 100 homeless families annually, PLM Families Together --- which receives funding support from the City of Raleigh --- uses a unique model to help clients find housing and achieve independence. The agency has three basic programs:

• Short-term housing support. For three to five months, homeless families are placed in apartment units at no charge. PLM Families Together owns seven units and leases three additional units for use by families. Families are provided intense case management services by professional mentor advocates, with a focus on increasing income through employment and savings and achieving stable housing;
• Re-housing support. This program moves families directly from homelessness or shelters into stable housing. After housing is found, PLM Families Together continues to work with the family for one year, helping them gain skills in budgeting and finance, maintaining employment, accessing resources and working with landlords; and,
• Centralized housing intake for families and single women. This program was started in May and is a collaborative effort involving many agencies. The purpose of the program is to provide a centralized intake center for families and single women who are either homeless or at risk in becoming homeless. At the intake center, clients can speak to a counselor, complete an assessment and be paired with appropriate and available services. The intake center is located a The Women’s Center of Wake County at 112 Cox Ave. Wake County is the first county in North Carolina to have such an intake center, according to Ms. Bordeaux. In addition to PLM Families Together and The Women’s Center of Wake County, other agencies involved in the project are Interact, the Raleigh Rescue Mission, Passage Home, Urban Ministries, the Helen Wright Center, Wrenn House and Triangle Family Services. Other local agencies will soon be joining the project, which eventually will be expanded to serve single men, Ms. Bordeaux said.

PLM Families Together was founded as Pan Lutheran Ministries in 1980 by five people from three Wake County Lutheran churches. In 2005, the board of directors changed the organization’s name to PLM Families Together to emphasize the “Families Together” value in the organization’s programs. The name change also was made to honor the organization’s Lutheran heritage and be inclusive of a new ecumenical identity.

Located at 908-101 Plainview Drive, PLM Families Together has six full-time employees, one part-time staff member and about 100 volunteers. These volunteers perform a variety of chores, including painting apartments and making repairs, supporting professional mentor advocates, collecting supplies and other donated items, tutoring children and hosting events.

The City of Raleigh has provided funding support to PLM Families Together in past years. The non-profit agency was allocated $27,500 in the City’s current budget as part of Raleigh’s appropriations to local human services agencies. PLM Families Together is also funded by Wake County government, United Way and private donations.

For more information about PLM Families Together --- including programs, how to make donations and how to become a volunteer --- contact the agency at 919-212-1123 or visit www.plmft.org.