We are an affiliate of a national organization called "Family Promise"

Family Promise of Western New York was founded 30 years ago by faith communities who offered families experiencing homelessness the gift of hospitality. 

In 1994, Family Promise of WNY began as the "Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Buffalo."   We are an affiliate in a national hospitality organization with the mission of helping families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.  The organization originally developed utilizing a rotational model where faith communities offered meals and overnight accommodations in collaboration with a Day Center that would help with case management during business hours. 

Regionally, the organization came to Western New York when Reverend Daniel Weir, the then Director of the Erie County Commission on Homelessness, arranged for various clergy from Erie County to meet with the national Interfaith Hospitality Network in 1993. Interested clergy and congregational members worked diligently throughout the next several years to create the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Buffalo (IHNGB). A Board of Trustees was formed and IHNGB was incorporated in December of 1994.  

The following eleven congregations committed to becoming founding host sites: 

• Central Presbyterian Church, Buffalo
• Faith United Methodist Church, Lancaster
• Harvest House, South Buffalo
• Kenmore Presbyterian Church
• Orchard Park Presbyterian Church
• St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church, West Seneca
• St. John Lutheran Church, Williamsville
• St. Matthias Episcopal Church, East Aurora
• St. Mary of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, Buffalo
• Trinity Old Lutheran Church, Amherst
• “West Side Cluster” of five United Methodist Churches

In the summer of 1996, the first family was welcomed into the program - a mother and her son.  Ten years lager, the organization changed its name to "Family Promise of Western New York".  

In 2019, after over 20 years of operating via the rotational model, Family Promise of WNY raised the funds to renovate our facility at 75 Hickory Street.  After renovations in the summer of 2020, we were able to double our capacity and re-opened to the community as a static-site program serving 6 families at time.  In September of 2020, we became the FIRST New York State certified shelter in Erie County.  

Since then, we've added other housing programs to our services - including Eviction Prevention, Shelter Diversion and Stabilization.  We now consider ourselves a family stabilization hub, able to meet a family wherever they are in their housing crisis and help them safely and quickly resolve it.  We house over 100 families every year.

Over the years, we've housed hunderds of families and have partnered with hundreds of faith communities, businesses, commmunity groups, individuals and foundations across Erie County.  We are proud to be a non-sectarian, community-based organization and know that it takes our entire community working together to help children and their families in the midst of a housing crisis find their way back home.