FPGI History
Transforming the lives of families experiencing homelessness.
Because every child deserves a home.
It only takes one listening heart
In the late 1980s, a crisis of family homelessness was being discovered. And what made it worse? Most traditional shelters separated genders - some for women and little children, others for men and older boys - and families were split apart. In 1993, a pioneering woman came to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, IN on a Wednesday evening. Her name was Karen Olson. She had started the first Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in Summit, New Jersey a few years prior.
Only a dozen people attended her talk that evening. But one man--a member of Carmel United Methodist Church--heard her message with his heart, and saw possibility. Dr. Dean Lindsey had just retired from Elanco, and was discerning where to dedicate himself next. He spoke with Karen immediately after, and regularly over the next few months. He researched the local need; he found it to be vast. He formed an interfaith outreach group, with a key member named Pastor Brian Byrne from St. Peter's United Church of Christ. They together recruited other congregations. The Northside Indianapolis Interfaith Hospitality Network was born (later renamed omitting the word Northside).
The best kept secret
In 1994, Pastor Brian, Dean, and the board hired Portia Radford, who welcomed the first family at Carmel UMC. What began with eight congregations, rollaway beds in pick-up trucks, and volunteers braving rain quickly grew into 35 congregations and 1,500 volunteers. Together, they provided meals, shelter, and support—making Family Promise one of Greater Indianapolis’ best kept secrets.
The promise to keep families together
Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis began in 1994, when Pastor Brian, Dean, and the board hired Portia Radford as the first director. That October, the first family was welcomed at Carmel UMC. With just eight congregations and volunteers hauling rollaway beds in pick-up trucks, the network quickly grew into 35 congregations and 1,500 volunteers—one of Greater Indianapolis’ best kept secrets.
In 2013, the AfterCare program was added to support families beyond shelter, and the organization adopted the name Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis, joining a national network of over 200 affiliates. Today, our promise remains the same: to keep families together, help them succeed through their hardest times, and work toward the day when our services are no longer needed. Since 1994, more than 1,000 families with children have been served with dignity, compassion, and hope.
