Underwriting support from:
Hope Community /Courtesy of Hope Community
Hope Community is dedicated to meeting the housing needs of homeless women and their minor children. The program is administered by the Grand Rapids Housing Commission. Hope Community facilities include a service center that
houses offices for management and resident services staff as well as twelve private apartments. An additional twelve
two- to three-bedroom duplex units are located nearby. As residents gain the skills they need to progress toward
independent living, they receive a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher that empowers them to find privately owned rental housing.
How Hope Community Works
Hope Community staff collaborate with a network of community health and human service agencies that provide educational, work readiness, counseling, parenting and health care programs directly to resident families.
• On-site Resident Services Specialists work with residents to set goals, address issues that threaten housing stability, develop action plans and monitor progress.
• Residents are provided with workshops offered through a Housing, Options, Preparation and Education (H.O.P.E.) curriculum and a wide variety of topics.
History of Hope Community
In the late 1980s, homeless women and their children represented the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population in our community; yet shelters were primarily designed to help single men, not women—certainly not mothers caring for young children.
In 1990 the Grand Rapids Housing Commission joined forces with the Home & Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids, Heartside Ministry, the City of Grand Rapids and a broad spectrum of community organizations, foundations, businesses and concerned individuals to develop a resource dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of homeless women and their minor children. The result was Hope Community, a $1.8 million facility that offers these vulnerable families not only shelter but also the tools they need to reclaim and maintain self-sufficiency.
For more information call 616-235-2893 or email Laura Oesch, [email protected].
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