Zion Lutheran Church in Hollidaysburg is starting a program designed to help homeless families — or families “teetering” on the edge of homelessness — to regain their footing in society.

The congregation approved its version of the Exton, Pa., based Bridge of Hope prior to COVID-19, but the committee in charge struggled to find a social worker and the effort “came to a halt,” according to Kevin Naugle, a member of the congregation and the church’s Bridge of Hope committee.

Within the last several months, however, the committee has regrouped, found and hired a social worker and begun interviewing in hopes of bringing its first client family into the program, said Naugle, who shared details of the effort Friday at a meeting of the Hope for the Homeless group that has been working more broadly to ameliorate homelessness in the area.

The typical client for Bridge of Hope is a single mother with children — but it can be a husband and wife, a father with kids, a husband, wife and grandmother or any similar combination, Naugle said.

There are three prongs to the program: a housing subsidy provided by the church for a defined period, intervention by the social worker and provision of a network usually comprising congregation members who act as “neighbors” to the client family, Naugle said.

The average housing subsidy commitment is six months, Naugle said.

The social worker helps clients obtain that housing and helps with getting work, goal planning, money management and other life skills.

The neighbors provide moral support and practical help, like watching kids after school or when they’re sick, taking them to soccer practice or taking the client to or from work, Naugle said.

The formal help from the program may last 18 months, but the neighbor network should go on indefinitely, Naugle said.

“That piece is designed to last,” he stated.

Such a network — often comprising family or close friends — is something many people who live comfortably in society take for granted, but many homeless people lack, Naugle said.

The Zion program is recruiting client families.

Anyone interested can apply by calling the church at 814-695-0091.

A team consisting of two committee members and the social worker interviews applicants, who don’t need to belong to Zion or to any church, and who don’t need to be believers at all, according to Naugle.

Applicants, however, need to be willing to cooperate with the social worker and participate with the “neighbors,” Naugle said.

In addition, those with substance use disorder need to be in treatment or recovery.

The neighbors comprise about 10 trained members of the congregation.

The church is not recruiting to increase that number.

The Bridge of Hope program at Zion grew out of a church-improvement effort that included a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats analysis, Naugle said.

In the midst of that, Naugle heard on a radio show about a similar program, and in following up, he learned about the Bridge of Hope initiative from an employee of a local agency.

“It’s been a long process, and we’re finally ready to start,” he said.

The national Bridge of Hope program grew out of a gathering in a church basement in Coatesville in 1987, according to the program’s website.

“The result was a unique ministry model: a three-way partnership among families facing homelessness, church-based Neighboring Volunteers trained to provide practical support and encouragement and professional staff,” the program’s website states. “Rather than offering short-term solutions, the Bridge of Hope Neighborhood of Support is designed to last 18 to 24 months to give families the time and opportunities necessary for long-term change.”

There are 23 Bridge of Hope sites in 13 states, according to the website.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.