‘Hope’s House:’ Day refuge
♦ A former case manager hopes to open the facility that will also serve as a resource center for the homeless by Dec. 1.
Time and time again at the Homelessness Task Force meetings over the past three months, leaders of local nonprofits agreed there needs to be a place where the homeless and others falling on hard times can gather during the day and get the resources they need to get back on their feet.
Such a place actually has been in the works since March. It’s called “Hope’s House” and is slated to be open at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street by December 1 — if all goes well.
“I was hoping to open a lot sooner but have run into a few obstacles with things not being done properly,” Hope’s House Executive Director Michelle Gerald said
Tuesday from her home in Dallas. “It’s been so exasperating! But I finally got my 501(c)3 done and met with a CPA on Monday to help with some paperwork.”
Having worked with numerous homeless people while serving as a case manager at Highland Rivers Center for six years, Gerald said she decided to strike out on her own earlier this year to see if she could do what she loves best — having quality relationships with those struggling the most.
“So I took $10,000 out of my retirement account and took out a lease on a house and started setting it up so it will be a comfortable place for folks to go during the day,” said Gerald, who has worked in the human services field for more than 30 years. “I want this to be where they can get everything they need in one place on a daily basis.”
She envisions having a computer room where people can look for jobs or apply for housing, a lounge area for relaxing or having group activities, and possibly even having a room where donated food and clothing can be distributed.
She said she actually got so many clothing donations from the community, she’s having trouble finding storage for them, and hopes she can find a way to distribute them back out to those who need them.
“I have so many bags of clothes in my garage right now, my husband will kill me if I bring home any more,” she said with a laugh. “But I know there are plenty of people out there who need them.”
She said she was able to sell some of the clothes in the 12 32-gallon plastic bins at a Hope’s House yard sale in May to help pay the water bill and other expenses of operating the building.
Instead of hanging out at the local library or sticking around the Community Kitchen between meals, she said she’d like Hope’s House to be one more safe place for the unsheltered and those living in shelters in the evenings
to go between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Devon Smyth, director of Davies Shelters and the executive director of the new Ruth & Naomi house for homeless women and children, said she has been in ongoing conversations with Gerald to help her get Hope’s House off the ground.
“We’re super excited for the resource this will provide,” Smyth said Tuesday. “It’s an excellent opportunity in our community. It’s day in and day out existence will make a big difference.”
Smyth said she did want to clarify a common misconception in the community that those living in local shelters are sent out to aimlessly roam the streets until they are permitted back into the shelters at 5 p.m.
“We have a plan with each and every one of our guests and they know the expectation of getting things done during the day,” said Smyth, who also started the group HOPE Alliance a couple of months ago to take coffee, pastries, laundry supplies and sometimes clothing to the homeless every Monday morning.
She said she empathizes with Gerald on the challenges of getting a nonprofit off the ground.
“That’s always the hardest part of getting started for any of us,” Smyth said.