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Photos courtesy of Family Promise Yellowstone Valley
Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley: Building Stability, One Family at a Time
Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley believes every family deserves a safe place to land and the support to move forward with confidence. For more than two decades, they’ve been walking alongside parents and children in Billings, offering not just shelter, but dignity, stability, and hope.
Family Promise began in the early 2000s when caring community members noticed a growing number of families facing housing instability with few options designed to keep parents and children together. Families were sleeping in cars, doubling up in unsafe spaces, or falling through gaps in existing services. Determined to find a better solution, local leaders discovered the Family Promise model and brought it to Billings, opening the organization’s first shelter space in 2004 in the basement of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
What started as a small, volunteer-driven effort quickly became a vital resource for families across the region. Through partnerships with local congregations and hundreds of dedicated volunteers, Family Promise created a model centered on compassion, collaboration, and long-term stability. In 2012, strong community support and grant funding enabled the purchase of four transitional housing apartments, giving families the time they needed to rebuild rental histories, strengthen credit, and prepare for independence.
As the organization grew, so did its ability to meet families where they were. In 2016, extraordinary generosity helped open the Fortin Family Promise Day Center in downtown Billings, creating a space for families to heal and access expanded services. Programming expanded to include Wrap-Around services, Break the Cycle of Poverty support, a Community Diaper Bank, and the Partners in Housing program. Most recently, in 2023, Family Promise raised $1.2 million to purchase eight additional transitional housing apartments, allowing the organization to support even more families on their path toward self-sufficiency.
Family Promise is committedto serving every type of family. Single parents, two-parent households, grandparents raising grandchildren, blended families, and others are all welcomed with dignity and care. Keeping families together during a crisis guides every part of the organization’s work, and individualized case management ensures families receive the time and support they need to create lasting change.
At the heart of the organization is the Emergency Rotational Shelter Program. By partnering with local congregations, community spaces are transformed into safe, welcoming shelter environments where families find stability, belonging, and connection. This model has achieved a long-term success rate of more than 90 percent for families who complete the program, measured not only in housing outcomes but in restored confidence and strengthened support systems.
Community involvement remains central to everything Family Promise does. Throughout the year, supporters gather for two signature events that help sustain the organization’s work. The Annual Golf Tournament, held the first weekend in September, brings people together for a day of friendly competition and shared purpose. Each February, the Beach Blizzard Gala fills winter with warmth and energy and serves as the organization’s largest fundraiser.
Volunteers continue to be the heartbeat of Family Promise. With a small staff of five and more than 1,400 volunteers, the organization delivers high-quality services at roughly one-third the cost of traditional shelter models. Operating as a zero-debt organization, Family Promise relies entirely on grants, individual donations, and community fundraising, modeling the same values of stability and responsibility it teaches families.
The spirit of Family Promise is guided by a simple question: how can we help? Parents lead their own journeys, setting goals and defining success for their families, while staff and volunteers walk alongside them with respect, encouragement, and practical support. Every act of involvement, whether time, resources, or advocacy, helps create safe spaces and brighter futures for parents and children across Billings. Family Promise stands as a powerful reminder that when a community chooses to show up for its families, lasting change is possible. To learn more about Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley or how to get involved, visit familypromiseyv.org
