Monday is when HOPE Family Shelters knows if they have space available in one of their two primary shelters.
And every Monday, they turn away at least a dozen families.
It is why HOPE Ministries has a dream.
And it will cost $6 million to make it come true.
That dream is to build a second apartment complex building at the original site in the 500 block of West Yosemite Avenue
It is envisioned for where an adjoining house is now standing that the nonprofit was able to secure with the city’s help. The plan is to tear the house down and replace it with a two-story 4,500-square-foot complex with nine apartment units.
It will more than double the apartments at the location.
HOPE has started searching for grants to pay for the project.
The new building’s architecture will reflect the design of the current apartment complex that was built in 1919 as a hospital, converted two years later to apartments, and recently renovated and modernized by HOPE Ministries.
Last year, 89 families were housed in HOPE Ministries’ three shelters for three months at a time.
That represents 227 individuals of which 60 percent or 136 were children.
And when 52 percent of those families left the guidance and care of HOPE Family Shelters they went directly into rental housing they were able to secure financially on their own.
That success rate is almost triple of what most shelters experience when people they assist temporarily move on. And it was as high as 62 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic hit that created issues for HOPE Ministries’ efforts as it did in every aspect of life.
One reason for the high success rate is the fact HOPE Ministries operates what is considered a high barrier shelter. That means those they help must be drug and alcohol free when they enter the program and stay that way.
If they stumble, they are out on the street. That said, people are given a second chance to return to the program if they stop using.
The bottom line is it forces most to realize that they are putting drugs and/or alcohol, ahead of their children.
The family shelter on Yosemite Avenue has seven apartments.
HOPE Ministries also operates a shelter for single moms and children in a former rest home on South Union Road. That is in addition to a six-unit transitional housing complex near Doctors Hospital where families can stay for up to two years and pay 30 percent of their income in rent
The non-profit is gearing up for its largest fundraiser of the year— “An Evening of HOPE” set for Friday, Oct. 27, at The River Mill in French Camp. The $80 tickets will go on sale Sept. 5 on the organization’s website.
People can also make direct donations via the website as well.
Overall, HOPE Ministries helped more than 5,700 people since they first opened their doors.
If you can help donate supplies that run the gamut from cleaning supplies to linens, call Ballungay at (209) 824-0658 or go to hopefamilyshelters.org.
