Care provider Hope Homes working to rebuild reputation

Paul Herrera jokes STOW — that he wants to install an “Under New Management” sign in front of the Hope Homes Foundation.

Herrera, the executive director of the nonprofit dedicated to helping those with developmental disabilities, is willing to do whatever it takes to rebuild the agency’s marred reputation and make sure that the public knows that it hasn’t disappeared.

The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities suspended Hope Homes as a care provider last year and the agency was forced to hand over all of its clients and employees to another provider, REM Ohio.

Since then, Herrera, the executive director, has been cleaning up the financial mess left behind, transitioning the agency into serving as a property manager, expanding its mission and, perhaps most important, trying to spread the word that Hope Homes is still around.

The foundation is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year.

“We’re active and we are moving forward,” Herrera said.

But he also acknowledged, “Every day is a test for us because of the past.”

Hope Homes ran afoul with the state because of repeated violations, including failing to get clients to medical appointments and not following up on doctor’s orders.

Last year, the agency was barred from providing care for five years — and at the same time was struggling with its finances. It lost $235,001 in 2014, $520,130 in 2015 and $413,171 in 2016, according to its latest tax filings with the IRS.

In June 2017, the nonprofit had to quickly hand over its operation — all the clients and about 120 employees — to REM Ohio, an Akronbased care provider for people with developmental disabilities.

While Hope Homes the provider ceased operations, the Hope Homes Foundation carries on.

The foundation now owns and manages 17 properties in Stark, Summit, Warren and Wayne counties where its former clients live.

Same mission

The agency’s over-arching calling remains the same — to provide affordable, accessible homes for people with developmental disabilities.

But it also wants to expand its mission and remain relevant by offering to make minor property repairs, providing inspections and helping the elderly remain independent in their homes.

The foundation has become a Medicaid-certified provider for minor housing repairs and modifications through the Ohio Department of Aging, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

“What we are trying to do is be a community partner with individuals who need ramps and stair lifts and modifications to their showers,” Herrera said.

Hope Homes also launched a new program called Aging in Place that’s designed for families caring for those with developmental disabilities in Portage, Stark and Summit counties. The foundation will provide a free home inspection and report.

Staying around

It would have been easy for the board to call it quits last year, but members didn’t want to abandon the longtime mission.

“We did have the resources to maintain the homes,” said Jacquie Skrzypiec, who took over as chair of the board of directors. “We knew we could exist with the homes and we could take care of them.”

The foundation faces a significant challenge in getting others to adjust how they think of the agency. Hope Homes now wants providers to think of it as a housing option, Skrzypiec said.

She praised Herrera for not only fixing the agency’s financial woes, but also promoting its new focus.

Hope Homes also recently hired a business development manager, Marianne Senvisky, who’s in charge of fundraising, grants, donations and event planning.

Storied history

Hope Homes has a storied history. It was founded in 1963 by Margaret Leiphart, a mom whose son had developmental disabilities, and the Rev. Paul Kiewit of Grace United Church of Christ in Akron.

She was worried about where her son would live after she died. Leiphart handed Kiewit a $5 bill to get the organization started and the first home opened in 1978 in Stow.

At its peak, Hope Homes owned more than 25 properties.

Herrera, whose background included 27 years as a development services director at the Stark County Board of Developmental Services, came on board as a consultant in April 2017. He has spent months straightening out the agency’s finances, which included dubious property purchases in Maryland and Massachusetts.

Herrera noted that the prior leadership made some “poor business decisions.” The foundation, though, was profitable.

Ready to grow

Herrera is hopeful for the future. “We’ve taken very small steps to regain our reputation, regain the trust in the community as a provider of service and to rebuild the company as a viable company,” he said.

“We feel like we’re ready to grow. We kind of feel we’ve turned the corner.”