History

Founded in 1986 as Interfaith Council for the Homeless of Union County, Homefirst began its first program -- the Interfaith Hospitality Network – as a partnership between our agency and area congregations. Its purpose then and still today is to provide homeless women and families in Union County with shelter, food and other basic necessities. Local congregations opened their doors and have been providing beds, hospitality and three nutritious meals a day for the past 23 years. We thought this would be a temporary solution to a temporary problem but the gap between housing costs and low-income wages has only widened.

Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) has grown since 1986 from 13 original congregations to 62. We now have 26 host congregations and 36 support congregations providing hospitality to homeless parents and their children 365 days a year. Over 1, 500 volunteers a year work to make this possible.

In 1989 Homefirst began providing rental assistance for families to make possible their transition from our shelter to a home of their own. At the same time we began our shift from just a volunteer-based shelter program with part-time social service staff to a direct service organization with full-time professional staff partnering with volunteers. This further illuminated the many critical needs of parents and children living in poverty that need to be addressed in order to make a long-term difference in their lives. We added additional programs that focus on nutrition, budgeting, health and intergenerational enrichment activities.

In 1996 we embraced a new national model to address the homelessness crisis – “Housing First.” With funding from Housing and Urban Development and support from our donors, Homefirst bought our first 4 units of affordable housing. The “Housing First” approach helps people move as quickly as possible into affordable housing with the comprehensive case management and support services required to ensure their success.

In May 2006 Interfaith Council for the Homeless of Union County changed its name to Homefirst, Interfaith Housing and Family Services.  Our new name paints a more accurate picture of our evolution as an organization. The caring and emergency support that began 20 years ago with the dedicated volunteers who comprise the Interfaith Hospitality Network shelter program, continues today through Homefirst Transitional Housing, Domestic Violence Safe Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, Permanent Affordable Housing, and Emergency Assistance Programs.

In 2007, Barbara Aaronoff retired and an Interim was named by the board to lead Homefirst through its first executive leadership transition in eighteen years. We continued to develop our housing stock; adding four more supportive housing units during this transition. This raised our total housing inventory to 38 units: 7 transitional units (including two for victims of domestic violence), 26 permanent supportive units for clients that were both homeless and disabled and 5 permanent affordable units.

In June 2008, Homefirst completed a three year strategic plan and named Ellen McGovern, MSW, LCSW as its new Executive Director. Work has begun on implementing the strategic plan and moving forward with completion of the current supportive housing program.

In 2009 we added 5 more permanent supportive units, completing our Housing Success IV program. These units included two in Westfield, which were our first housing investments in that city. Our plans for 2010 call for the addition of 5 more permanent affordable housing units, two of which will be in Scotch Plains.