Terry Ruth Lindemann was only 5 years old when the state of California determined she would be headed to foster care.
Her parents were “well-seasoned alcoholics” and not stable enough to keep a roof over the family’s head, she said. Lindemann would live in 13 foster homes in the San Diego area.
“That introduced me to what it feels like to not be in your own home,” said Lindemann, who has turned her childhood experiences into a professional passion.
Lindemann is the longtime executive director of the nonprofit Family Promise of Las Vegas. The group helps at-risk and homeless families with children to find sustainable housing.
Lindemann will tell you no two days are the same. Between working on multiple grant proposals, coordinating with Clark County officials for funding, training volunteers and ministering to at-risk families, the 74-year-old wears many hats.
She’s a businesswoman, social worker, architect, friend and more—and she loves it. Lindemann, after starting as a volunteer, has been the executive director since 2004.
“We have to do a better job [as a society],” Lindemann said. “When you see some of the people who come through here, they could be my sisters or my children.”
The group has about 40 families in its motel shelter program, where those needing to strengthen their financial position live for about three months and go through the Family Promise process to transition to independent living in their own residence.
That process begins with detailing a plan to achieve employment and housing, which includes participating in continuing education classes the group offers. Those lessons include money management, life skills, parenting and lifestyle choices.
Families in motel shelter are paired with volunteers in the Just Neighbors program, where families or church groups serve as mentors. Family Promise is proud of its stable of helpers, including volunteers from multiple faith denominations.
It leases office space from Community Lutheran Church on East Tropicana Avenue, where Lindemann is a longtime churchgoer and where she got her start with the Family Promise program.
Back then, multiple faith congregations would volunteer to house the families overnight at their church buildings or homes, rotating each week in bonding together for the good of the community. They’d serve meals, play games and provide fellowship.
Often, the families in need would become part of the church community, and updates on their successes in gaining independence would be shared in the weekly church bulletin.
“When we see a need, we want to help others,” said Bob Blaskey, the pastoral assistant at St. Viator Catholic Church and a longtime Family Promise volunteer. “It’s more than helping people in need, it’s helping families in need.”
The Family Promise strategy altered during the pandemic because it could no longer house families at faith buildings or homes for fear of spreading the virus. That’s when funding was secured to launch the motel shelter program, which Lindemann says has been a success.
About 80% of the families who exit the program stay independent, Lindemann said. That’s especially significant considering 65% of the total people they work with our children.
“If there was a place like Family Promise when my family fell apart, we would have been saved,” she said.
Lindemann will soon be retiring, but only after Family Promise takes the next step in its evolution. It was awarded 1.1 acres of land and a $5.3 million community development grant from Clark County to build a full-service family navigation center—complete with 10 transitional apartments. It will have all of the bells and whistles to service families, with a state-of-the-art playground and educational rooms over 12,000 square feet. It will need to raise about $2.5 million to finish off the project.
“[The center] will enhance our impact, and that’s what drives me,” Lindemann said.
The success stories are also a motivator. A few of them are listed on the group’s website; others are entrenched in Lindemann’s memory, as she never forgets a face.
Take Thelma, “who after months of living with friends and relatives and then moving from shelter to shelter” turned to Family Promise, according to her testimony on the group’s site. She thrived in the workforce development program, including job interview skills, and also went through the financial literacy program.
She now works in property management, and lives independently with her daughters. Lindemann knows there are more Thelmas out there to save. And, more important: more children to help.
“She cares about people,” Blaskey said. “She cares about all of those people who come through the program.”
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This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.