For Potential Guests

Guest families stay overnight in a GIHN Network host congregation’s facility, usually in Sunday school rooms or nurseries made over by the volunteers to be as homey as possible. GIHN furnishes the beds. In the morning volunteers provide breakfast, encouragement, and transportation to one of GIHN's day centers where the children are picked up by Guilford County Schools. During the day the adults either go to work, look for work, attend classes, or care for younger children, all the while working their plan preparing for permanent housing.

In the evening our guest families are transported by volunteers in one of GIHN’s vans to the same host congregation. Here volunteers welcome guests, help the families settle in for the evening, provide dinner, encouragement, and fellowship. Each Sunday the host congregation changes, and guest families meet a whole new volunteer support network.

The adults in our guest families meet at least weekly with a Program Director to develop and monitor an action plan with specific goals: saving money, arranging for various public assistance, finding housing, securing employment, going back to school, arranging for childcare, etc. The Program Director only facilitates the process. The plan belongs to the guests, and they it happen. The average stay for guest families is 40 days. The initial stay is 30 days, but based on sustained effort on their plan, a family's stay may be extended for 2 more 30 day periods, making 90 days the maximum stay. GINH’s success rate is a little better than 85%.