Giving Hope Event Raises Funds for Low-Income, Working Families

Faith Community Homes will host Giving Hope on Sunday, September 30, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at Rolling Green Country Club in Arlington Heights. This year, the popular annual fundraising event moves to a larger venue with a major goal to raise funds needed to help low-income working families afford the rising costs of rental housing.

Last year's Giving Hope event was the organization's most successful ever. The larger venue for the event this September will accommodate its growing base of supporters. Giving Hope will feature a silent auction, raffles, heavy appetizers and a stand-up comedy performance by Kevin Bozeman of Comedy Central and Dry Bar Comedy fame. The highlight of the program, however, will be the opportunity to hear a family share how their lives were changed through their involvement with Faith Community Homes.

Formed in 2003 as a charitable nonprofit organization, Faith Community Homes serves low-income, working families in Arlington Heights, Palatine and surrounding areas by providing rent assistance and mentoring services for up to two years. Its targeted program helps participants learn and put into practice solid financial principles and develop important career-advancement and life skills. Families meet with trained volunteer mentors and social workers throughout their time in the program.

As rental-housing costs continue to rise throughout the northwest suburbs, so does the need for increased rent support for families involved in the Faith Community Homes program. Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Arlington Heights and Palatine areas generally ranges from $1,100 to 1,200 per month. This rising range creates a growing burden for low-income families. Housing advocates advise that in order to live affordably, families should not spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

This means that in Arlington Heights, families need to earn more than $22 per hour, or approximately $45,000 per year, to meet this threshold, according to "Out of Reach 2018," by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Faith Community Homes pays the portion of rent that exceeds 30 percent of a family's income. Rising rent costs means the organization now generally takes on greater financial responsibility than it did for families a few years ago. Additionally, during a family's two-year enrollment in the program, it is also more critical than ever for family members to increase their incomes through working additional hours or obtaining better paying jobs. More education or skills training may also be required to make the leap.

Faith Community Homes facilitates the training needed to earn increased incomes. And through its program to fund rent costs, Faith Community Homes, in a very real sense, buys time for these families to make the financial strides necessary to survive and, hopefully, thrive in the future.

Community support is critical to the mission of Faith Community Homes. Tickets for Giving Hope cost $60 each and are available through the organization's website, fchomes.org, or by calling the office at 847-342-0846. Sponsorships and donated silent auction items are also welcome, through the office.