History

PLMFT was founded as Pan Lutheran Ministries on March 11, 1980 by five people from three Wake County Lutheran churches with the mission to provide housing and support to those in need, to involve volunteers, and to advocate for those in need of adequate housing. The main focus has always been on homeless families with children. The first program established was Samaritan Inn, a set of apartments near Wake Medical Center, used by low income out-of-town families who have a critically ill member of the family in the hospital. In 1981, Agape Place opened on East Jones Street in Raleigh, housing homeless families (11 individuals) on a short term, emergency basis. In 1987, a long-term transitional housing program, called "Families Together, began in rented apartments on Brooks Avenue. "Families Together" included intensive case management and life-skills training for homeless families. In 1995, 7 additional transitional apartments and one administrative office were built by Habitat for Humanity at our location on Plainview Drive/Polly Street in Raleigh. In 1998 PLM experienced considerable expansion when PLM and other agencies received a multi-year grant from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Government) to study precisely what types and length of services best empower homeless families. In 2000, the City of Raleigh contracted with PLM to take over operation of nine two-bedroom transitional apartments on Poole Road for homeless families. PLM also received funding through the State of North Carolina, and then through Wake County, to double the size, to 28 families, of our emergency, short term program, called "Wake Family Entry." In 2004, after 22 years of ministry, Agape Place was sold. The agency committed to a model of individual units for each family, rather than congregate living. At the Fall, 2004 retreat, the Board of Directors decided to take necessary steps that would open this faith based ministry to other denominations. On June 27, 2005 the Board of Directors changed the name of Pan Lutheran Ministries to PLM Families Together (PLMFT), in order to honor its Lutheran heritage and to be inclusive of a new ecumenical identity.

In Spring, 2006, the original Samaritan Inn program (1 apartment) came to a close. All resources were focused on homeless families within the local area, rather than those who may have come from out of town for medical purposes. In Spring, 2007, PLMFT began using all of its apartment units on a short-term, 3-4 month basis to house families, because a focused time period proved to be more successful for families and more families could be served each year as we tried to address the backlog of families in crisis on the waiting list. (Also, PLMFT lost the use of nine 2-bedroom units at 1725-1729 Poole Road – owned by the City, when the sewer line broke making the site uninhabitable. This was the main location of the long-term transitional program.) It is a best practice to move families into permanent housing as quickly as possible and then provide ongoing after care, rather than keeping families in shelter programs longer. Thus, the long-term transitional program, called “Families Together,” ended by May, 2007.

In 2007-2008, the Life Skills classes offered by PLMFT expanded from 10 in the prior year to 39. This program feature exposes residents to key information that is needed as they become stable, permanent housing residents. After School services to children also increased from meeting twice per week to meeting four times per week, plus monthly programming on Saturday mornings at a second site.