What is FIT?
Families In Transition has successfully served nearly 150 homeless, pregnant women and their children in its years of service.
Why the need for FIT? One-half of all live births in Memphis/Shelby County are to unmarried women. Also, there are up to 10,000 homeless persons in Memphis/Shelby County alone. One-third of those are women and children – with two-thirds of these being children birth to 5 years of age. The level of poverty in Memphis, which is higher than in any other county in Tennessee, is statistically much higher for women and children. In response to this need, FIT was launched on July 1, 2001.
■FIT is the only program of its kind in Shelby County serving homeless, pregnant women
and their children in transitional housing for up to two years. FIT also provides the following services at no cost to the families served:
■Duplex or apartment to live in with their children for up to two years (called transitional housing).
■Life Skills classes and training to equip the women to live successfully on their own (in areas such as parenting, financial matters, employment/career, etc.).
■Counseling to address relational and personal issues.
■Mentors to assist them in their journey.
■Opportunity to come to know Jesus.
■Case management services.
■Chaplain Services.
For some, bringing a child into the world is an amazing gift from God; for others, it is a frightening and overwhelming experience. Most of the women in the FIT (Families In Transition) program come to us with little or nothing to provide for themselves and their children.