ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Mike Brokowsky has a wall full of diplomas and certificates. He’s clearly a man of learning. He’s also a man of God — most of those diplomas and certificates are for theology or from various churches. Brokowsky, a Foley resident and native, clearly is destined for higher things.

But on one Friday afternoon, he was most worried about getting one family to shelter.

Brokowsky is the executive director of Family Promise of Baldwin County, a almagam of 12 host churches and seven support congregations that do their best for homeless families in the area. The local chapter of Family Promise, part of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, started work in January of 2008, and Brokowsky operates from a donated trailer equipped with two washers and dryers in Robertsdale.

The national organization of Family Promise will be celebrating its 20th anniversary later this year.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States. According to a Family Promise brochure, 16,089 individuals live in poverty in Baldwin County. This includes 5,415 children under the age of 18.

Put your mental image of a homeless person as a ne’r-do-well sleeping in the street aside, Brokowsky says.

“The number one reason for homelessness in this area is the lack of affordable housing,” Brokowsky said. .

“It takes about 60 percent of a family’s income to maintain a home in Baldwin county, said Brokowsky.

It does not take much for a family to lose a home, Brokowsky added.

“It’s easy to lose income,’ Brokowsky said. “There’s sickness, or the car goes out, and then a family finds themselves spiraling down.”

The problem, at least in Baldwin County, is hidden, Brokowsky says.

“The biggest surprise for me was that we can’t always find the families,” Brokowsky said. “They are afraid of agents or police officers. They are afraid that they will lose their children to DHR (referring to the Alabama Department of Human Resources) so they don’t come in.”

Instead, Brokowsky says, the families will travel from one relative’s home to another and sleep in their cars to avoid coming to the attention of authorities.

“One of our biggest challenges is locating these families and getting them to come in,” Brokowsky said.

Unless there is a danger to a child or some serious condition, Family Promise does not report homeless families to the authorities,” Brokowsky says.

Once “in” the Family Promise program, families can expect help and they have some clear rules to follow.

“FIrst, there is a stigma to the word, “homeless,” said Brokowsky. “We call them families in crisis who happen not to have a home. When you say “homeless,” you think of winos, drug addicts, and the severely mentally ill; usually you think of a single individual. For the most part, our clients are hardworking families in crisis, with the parents working trying to provide for their children. We just help them get back on their feet.”

The families stay at area churches. The program is one of five in Alabama.

As of now, St. Paul’s Episcopal, New Beginnings Christian Church, Foley United Methodist, First Baptist Church of Foley, Holy Trinity Lutheran, Orange Beach Presbyterian, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal, Redeemer Lutheran, Trinity Presbyterian, Belforest Christian, Church of the Apostles, and Fairhope Christian Church serve as “host” churches, providing meals and housing.

“With enough host churches, they can expect ot be called on just a few times a year,” Brokowsky said.

Christ the King, St. Margaret’s and St. Patrick’s Catholic Churches, Christ Presbyterian, Loxley United Methodist, Swift Presbyterian, and the First Presbyterian Church of Gulf Shores serve as “support” churches, providing resources to help get the families on their feet.

“The families leave from here to go to the host church,” said Brokowsky. “Two volunteers meet them, and the families have a hot evening meal. At 9 p.m., two more volunteers come over and spend the night with the family.”

The family is provided with a breakfast and the makings for a bag lunch.

“The families must be employed or able to be employed,” said Brokowsky. “Everyone must pass a drug test, we do a criminal background check and we don’t take cases of domestic violence. We have to protect our volunteers and other guests.”

While youngsters are transported to their regular school, the adults in the family must look for work and “get hooked up” with community services.

“Our goal is self-sufficiency,” said Brokowsky. “That means finding work. We are a safety net. We keep the children in their regular school because the school provides their social circle. All their friends are there.”

Families stay with Family Promise for about eight weeks, Brokowsky says.

“Eight weeks is about the national average,” said Brokowsky. “You can save up a lot of money in that time. Our goal is to help a family get caught up.”

The Baldwin County chapter of Family Promise depends on donations and volunteers to do its work.

“We find a little bit here and a little bit there,” said Brokowsky. He added that the organization would hold its first fundraiser June 21 at Fairhope Pier.

“We are going to have a “Jubilee Seafood Festival,” Brokowsky said. In operation almost six months, Family Promise in Baldwin County is feeling some growing pains.

“We need churches who can accept guests,” said Brokowsky. “We need help with volunteers. We need office angels, and someone to drive the trailer (with fold-out beds.)

For more information about Family Promise, call 947-5641 or e-mail familypromise@gulftel.com The national orginization’s Web site is familypromise.org,