Profile: HOPE to HOME

HOPE to HOME is a faith-based program that pairs teams of 8-10 volunteers from the faith community with a person or family who’s been homeless but is moving into permanent housing.  Each team commits to supporting their newly-housed partners for one year in four key ways:  financial, material, practical, and most importantly, relationally. See here for more information.

I was a member of one of the two pilot teams, and much was learned from our experience. Let me tell you about Bill.  There were eight of us from four different faith communities, and we each had our role.  One of our members was a retired nurse, and she was invaluable at helping Bill move through the maze of our broken heath care system.  Some were able to take him to his various appointments throughout the day.  Others helped him organize his apartment and mend his clothes. I brought him vegetables from our community garden.  We even had a Christmas cookie making party at the synagogue where we decorated snowmen, stars, and the Torah! 

While we helped Bill begin his new life as a housed person, all of us learned much from this experience.  At a dinner which marked the end of our year together, Emily Ball, the director of the program, led us in some reflection.  After our meal, we (including Bill) each drew one question from a pile of questions.  “What did you learn that you didn’t know before?” “How has your experience in HOPE to HOME changed you?”  “What did HOPE to HOME teach you about yourself?” “ What’s the greatest accomplishment of the past year?” were among them.

In thinking back on the experience, we thought about how every team helps their newly housed person with the demands of finally having a place to live.  Perhaps the team member helps the person learn how to budget and apply for food stamps.  Perhaps a team member helps the person set up the new apartment and get to appointments on time.  Perhaps the team member invites the person to dinner, the state fair, or on a fishing trip.

What is really important about this program is how much each member of the team learns about him or herself. The final question affected each one of us.  “When I think about HOPE to HOME ending, I feel…” Some folks shared their anger about a broken system.  Others shared how sad they were about the unfairness of our world.  One person vowed to get involved in advocacy work. 

Me?  I share all these feelings, but I also feel energized. I want to be involved in helping our community end homelessness, and HOPE to HOME is working toward this goal.  Three of us from Grace Covenant Presbyterian have committed to serving on another team and we’d like to try and form a team on our own. Being part of this team helped me put a human face on poverty.  Accompanying Bill on this journey strengthened my sense of perservance. Being a part of this team helped me see how the Body of Christ can really work.  Contact me puffer61@gmail.com if you want to join me.        

--Tamara Puffer