LEAD SPONSOR
|
|
 Hope House Revisited
Many of you remember that in 2001 and 2002, A Fund For Women funded a new program named Hope House. With our grant award of $100,000 over two years, this innovative program for single homeless women and their young children became viable and has grown to become an important asset to the community.
Hope House is a modest home located in a residential community on Madison’s west-side. To be eligible to live there, potential residents must be enrolled in Early Head Start or be enrolling concurrently as they apply for Hope House. Candidates must show a willingness to work toward housing, employment and education goals. Before moving in, a resident must sign a contract and agree to abide by Hope House rules.
The Early Head Start program includes prenatal health and emotional support, child health and development; attachment (parent and child relationship building), parenting; English as a Second Language; adult education and self sufficiency skill development; access to social support services, developing skills to advocate for themselves and their children and access and financial support for quality child care. In addition, within Hope House residents also receive:
- Additional intensive services to identify and achieve housing, education and employment goals.
- On-site services of the Hope House Coordinator and 24-hour presence of the Resident Manager to assure safety and positive relationships within the home.
- Benefits of the generous support of Bethel Lutheran Church volunteers who provide meals, house maintenance, resources and donations and ever-present friendship and support.
- Upon successful completion of residency, donations to begin housekeeping in their own residence, including new and donated items and furniture.
 
Demographics to date (12/2008)
- Total Numbers served: 54 adults/families and 61 children
- Average age of adult entering the program was 21.4 years of age. The oldest was 30, and many were 18 years old.
- Adult disabilities: 6 adults (11%) have had diagnosed disabilities. (Three were mental health and three were cognitive disabilities)
- Race and ethnicity: 30 (56%)–African American, 13 (24%)–Caucasian, 6 (11%)–Hispanic, 3 (6%)–Biracial, 1 (1%)–Asian, 1 (1%)–Native American
- Average length of residency was 96.6 days. The shortest stay was 3 days, and the longest was 225 days.
- Education levels upon entry: 30 (56%)–Had not graduated high school, 24 (44%)–Had graduated high school, 2 (4%)–Had some college classes
Results to date (12/2008)
- Completion of residency requirements: 48 (88%) of the residents completed residency requirements. This included following house rules, working toward goals and participating in Early Head Start program activities such as home visits, socializations and working towards goals on their Family Partnership Agreement.
- Money saved while in Hope House: While in Hope House, 19 (35%) of the families saved money to be used for deposits and utilities. The average amount of money saved by these families was $273.11.
- Current Housing Status: 44 (81%) of the families who resided in Hope House were still on their own lease or in other permanent housing.
- Current Education Status:
- 27 (50%) of the women have graduated from high school or completed their GED. Two of these women graduated from high school while in residency at Hope House.
- 5 (9%) of the women had completed some college courses.
- Health and Safety Accomplishments:
- Two babies were born while their mothers were residing in Hope House. Round the clock, on-call nursing services were available to these mothers through Early Head Start.
- Dane County Child Protection Services allowed a mother with a mental health condition to maintain custody of her child due to the collaboration of Early Head Start staff and the high level of supervision available at Hope House.
- One child had two operations to correct hip and spine issues while at Hope House. The doctors would not perform the surgeries until the mother had stable housing.
- 47 (93%) of the residents' children were up-to-date on well baby exams and immunizations.
Future goals of Hope House include:
- Establishing stable, long-term funding sources.
- Refining database, communication systems and incentives to increase capacity to track.
- Increasing resident access to the Internet for housing, education and employment activities.
- Increasing educational achievements, with a focus on high school graduation or GED.
All of the data in this article was provided by Burt Olson, President of Hope House Building Corporation. A Fund For Women thanks Mr. Olson and the other members of the Hope House Building Corporation together with many others at Bethel Lutheran Church for their support of this program. We are also grateful to AFFW donors Clare McArdle and Carrie Bernhardt who have worked with this former grantee since its inception.
Save the Date...
A Fund For Women's Annual Event
October 15, 2009
Monona Terrace Convention Center
Social hour at 5 p.m.
Please save the date for an inspirational evening celebrating women and philanthropy.
Details to follow soon.
|
|
|
