Hope House Staff

An advocate takes a call on the hotline.
 

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of the staff who works at Hope House. When I first meet people and they learn I work at Hope House I often hear, “Oh, isn’t that hard work?” and “How do you do it?"

My response to this question is the staff I work with are the ones who are doing the hard work. Hope House would not be what it is today without the dedication of the individuals who work here.

This work is not easy, that is very true. Direct service staff work long and crazy hours and are confronted with trauma every day. They hear stories from survivors every day that most people would probably never hear in their lifetime.

When you work at Hope House you never know what the day is going to bring or what crisis is around the corner, but the staff take it all in stride. They are gracious and caring and work to ensure that client needs are met. Even those who do not do direct service make a tremendous impact on the lives of the clients. They may not know it, but they do.

I am grateful to all of the staff who is committed to helping our clients and who make Hope House a great place to work. We are able to laugh and have fun, as well as focus on the seriousness of our client’s needs. I consider myself fortunate to have such a wonderful team to work with.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! 2011 is just two days away, and we are gearing up for it to be a great year.

We are so excited to be planning our grand opening for the new therapy building and for all of the renovations and changes that have happened on the Independence campus. It is a beautiful, calming atmosphere; a perfect environment for healing to take place.

We continue to be forward thinking in our plans for this year. We will continue to enhance our programming through grants that we have received. It is so exciting to be able to hire back staff and enhance the quality of our programming. We have been operating at lower staffing levels but continuing to have increased demand. This can take a toll on the staff, to be able to provide relief for them is such a thrill.

Last year we turned away more than we served in shelter; hopefully this year will be different. We will continue to offer services to as many as we can through all of our programming and minimize the numbers who are turned away. We will continue to advocate at the state and national level to make sure that the needs of those impacted by domestic violence are heard and addressed.

We remain positive that our work is making a difference in the lives of women and children. I heard from a former resident not too long ago who said, “Hope House saved me.” I said, “No, you saved yourself. We just helped.” I plan to continue to offer services that help women in their journey to reclaim themselves and move on to lives free of abuse.

I hope you will stay with me on this journey as we see what 2011 brings for us.