Hope House and the Salvation Army Collaborate as a “Win-Win” Team for Homeless Women and Children in the Lake Norman area
Hope House provides the transitional house - The Salvation Army its programming know-how
By Fran Mathay
November 23, 2009
HUNTERSVILLE – Hope House Foundation and The Salvation Army announced today that they have forged a collaborative agreement to work together to manage and operate the newly renovated and furnished Hope House to serve homeless women and children in the Lake Norman area.
A front-page article in a local newspaper on The Salvation Army tipped off Hope House Board Member Chris Anthony that The Salvation Army was a perfect match when he learned that they planned to build a transitional house in two years. With his board’s blessing, Anthony immediately approached The Salvation Army’s Major Todd Hawks and Director of Social Services Deronda Metz with his collaborative idea.
According to Major Hawks, “It was a win-win match. By our joining forces to run and program Hope House, we will experience cost savings by not duplicating services for both our organizations,” he explained. “With these tough economic times, we are all looking for best practices to serve the many needy people with the available funds in the community.”
Combining their strengths and missions, both non-profits have formally signed an agreement that clarifies each organization’s role in running the house and managing the program for residents with 24/7 supervision for the next three months, and then to negotiate a long-term relationship.
The Salvation Army has hired the necessary staffing to run Hope House with solid program management to operate the facility at full capacity. Hope House has provided a transitional house on four acres of land, household furnishings and amenities, utilities, a volunteer program and a continuation of fundraising and development efforts by its board to maintain the house and its grounds. In addition, Hope House will continue to build strong relationships and close community ties in the Lake Norman area with its many supporters.
“It’s taken us almost three years of extensive renovations to completely furnish the house in order for us to open our doors to be as resident-ready as we are today,” said Dr. Lee Beth Lindquist, co-founder of Hope House. “Building anything is financially demanding. When our Board had to face programming and operating the house 24/7, this task was as daunting to us as renovating the house. To fill all our 13 beds by December 1, we looked for an expert non-profit with impeccable credentials in operating homeless shelters, and we fortunately found a compatible connection with The Salvation Army.”
Built on two levels, Hope House is a 4,000 square foot brick ranch house in Huntersville that has been configured into six bedrooms and four baths, two laundries as well as ample dining and kitchen space to shelter homeless women and their children for up to six months with services to enable them to transition into affordable permanent housing and self-sufficiency.
Comfortably furnished by individuals and organizations from the Lake Norman area, the house has new energy-efficient appliances, beds and bedding as well as household goods furnished from a generous start-up grant from the Sisters of Mercy of N.C. Foundation. The AT&T Learning Center within the house has state-of-the-art computers and software for all residents to use for educational and employment opportunities. The garage of the house was converted into a colorful recreational play area by Profit Technologies and funding from Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association Housing Opportunity Foundation. The disability ramp making the house totally accessible was a gift from the Peninsula Community Foundation.
Major Hawks summed up the alliance, “Joining together at Hope House is key to meeting the ever increasing needs of the homeless population in our community -- particularly with those who are the most vulnerable -- women and children. You can only put so many people in an emergency shelter, but a transitional home gives individuals time to become independent – a long term solution in hope."
About The Salvation Army and the Center of Hope
The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte meets the needs of the community with 15 centers of service and five Thrift Stores with services ranging from emergency assistance, shelters, Boys & Girls Clubs, adult rehabilitation and disaster relief. The Center of Hope is a 36,000-square foot facility with 202 beds, making it the largest women and children's homeless shelter in the Southeast. In addition to shelter, the Center of Hope offers professional case management, a free medical clinic, childcare, Life Skills program, Substance Abuse Treatment program, Shelter Health Care Services, a computer lab, a resource center and the first fully-chartered Boys & Girls Club that operates within a homeless shelter. For more information about The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, visit its web site at www.salvationarmycharlotte.org.
About The Hope House Foundation
The Hope House Foundation is a 501-(c)-(3) non-profit charitable organization created to serve the growing needs of homeless women and women with children in the Lake Norman area in a comfortable suburban home in Huntersville. To qualify, residents must be carefully screened to live at Hope House and are expected to keep the home and grounds tidy, contribute to meal preparation and assist with laundry and cleaning, as well as fulfill personal goals set by their case managers and staff to become independent. In addition to transitional shelter, Hope House provides access to medical treatment and a variety of services to enable these temporarily displaced women to become productive and self-sufficient. To learn more about Hope House and become a friend to its mission, visit www.hopehousefoundation.org.