A Typical Day in the Network

Each weekday begins with the guests arriving at the Family Center at 6:00 a.m. The early hour allows children in the Network to continue in their “home” school district. Transportation for school may be as early as 7:00 a.m. so everyone needs to be at the Family Center.  Meanwhile, other guests complete their daily living activities such as showers, breakfast, pack lunch and dress for work or school.

During the day, the guests work on their Stability Plan. When adult guests enter the Network, they are required to identify goals that need to be met in order to obtain permanent housing and stability. Guests are then required to identify weekly objectives that need to be met in order to achieve the overall goals.  Guests are also required to complete a financial log to document their financial situation. 

Around 6:00 p.m., the guests depart from the Family Center. Volunteers from the host congregation assist in transporting them, using the IHN van, from the Family Center to their evening/overnight site. Some guests, however, return directly to the congregation. Dinnertime is set at the discretion of the volunteers.  While staying with the host congregation, guests are expected to adhere to the congregational guidelines that are determined by the volunteers.  These, along with important information, fire exit information, and a chore chart (if implemented), are posted in a common area. 

Morning arrives and guests rise and prepare for departure from the congregation. Again, volunteers assist in transporting them to the Family Center.

This schedule repeats itself seven days per week, with the exception of Saturday morning.  Some congregations allow guests to sleep until 8:30am and return to the Family Center at 9:00am.  Family Center coverage is available at the Family Center as of 9:00am.  This coverage extends until 5:00pm on Saturdays. 

On Sunday, the host congregations switch.  Now the guests begin a new week, spending the evenings and overnights at a new host congregation and returning to the Family Center each day.