# First Month's Rent

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037/first-month-s-rent
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037/first-month-s-rent.md
Podcast: [The Valley Today](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037)
Published: 2026-06-29T15:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://thevalleytodaypodcast.com/first-months-rent
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thevalleytoday/20260629VT.mp3?dest-id=2999852
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-valley-today-1144037/episodes/first-month-s-rent
Duration seconds: 1711

## Resource

Last year, Family Promise Winchester typically received 40 to 45 requests for help per month. This month, they'll cross 100. On this episode of The Valley Today, host Janet Michael welcomes back Chris Brigante, Executive Director of Family Promise Winchester, for a candid conversation about why family homelessness is surging in our region — and the surprisingly cost-effective math behind preventing it. Chris walks through the numbers most people don't see: the average direct-assistance cost to get a family into stable housing is about $500 per child. The historical cap on a Family Promise move-in package is around $1,500 per family. Of the first 73 families they've moved into homes, 71 are still housed. That's the case for investing in first month's rent — and it's the heart of why federal funding gaps, ALICE-population stagnation, and the rising cost of living are now landing harder on Family Promise's doorstep than ever before. Chris also previews the new THRIVE program (a multi-agency collaboration launching soon with CCAP, United Way NSV, Horizon Goodwill, Connected Communities, and the I'm Just Me Movement, backed by grants from the Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints Church and Valley Health), explains how Family Promise differs from WATTS and Winchester Rescue Mission in the homelessness ecosystem, and shares three remarkable client stories — including a young couple who slept in their car all winter, a mother emerging from incarceration who got herself stably housed within eight weeks, and a hearing-impaired mother who didn't need a dollar of assistance, just someone to read a document with her. THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER DEMAND • Last year: 40-45 monthly assistance requests - this month: 95+ already, likely 100+ by month-end (more than double) • Of the first 73 famili…

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## Transcript

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