Post written by Toscha Wilkins. Click here to learn more about our entire blog team.
In our everyday contact with homeless clients, we realize that the services we offer might be the last shred of hope that they have.
Most of our clients have exhausted both their formal and informal support networks, to the point that they find themselves relying on agencies and organizations for their very basic human needs: shelter, food and clothing.
For whatever reasons – unemployment, domestic violence, mental illness, physical disability, foreclosure or substance abuse to name a few — they find themselves homeless and trying to build a better foundation for their lives than the one they are currently standing on. When a person gets to the point where they are not able to provide the basic necessities for themselves and their families but wants that better life, where does hope come from?
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. ~ ANNE LAMOTT
Image credit: kotangens / 123RF Stock Photo
Our clients show up to the Homeless Initiative Program (H.I.P) knowing that we are here to help them navigate through the dark and sometimes unfamiliar process of going from homelessness to housed. There have been many times that a client will meet with me for the first time and say “I never thought I would be in this situation.” It’s humbling to know that sometimes, in spite of our own best intentions, life has a way of leading us down a path that we never thought we would go.
And yet, they show up, on a daily basis, to try and do the right thing for themselves and their families. This includes attending our employment workshop to learn about employer employee relations, the correct way to fill out an application, what not to wear to an interview and the best way to showcase their skills and talents. All of this in the hopes that they will land a job to secure income that will help them acheive housing and become self-sufficient.
Image credit: kotangens / 123RF Stock Photo
At HIP, we know that in order for our clients to reach that level of self-sufficiency they are striving for, it takes the help of our entire team working together with the client. The clients are changing behaviors and refocusing energy towards goals that they themselves have established. While it’s not easy to change one’s behaviors, they know that in order to make a better life for themselves and their families, change they must.
Image credit: kotangens / 123RF Stock Photo
So where does hope come from? Hope comes from within ourselves, motivated by others surrounding us with the tools and knowledge to make our lives better.
While there’s life, there’s hope – Marcus Tullius Cicero
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As one of the largest and most comprehensive programs for the homeless in the state, HIP provides a network of services to treat the whole person, as he or she moves from homelessness into housing, employment and self-sufficiency.
Last year, HIP served 3,095 homeless men, women and children and with your help we can change those numbers for the better! And, it does not take much to make a difference!
A gift of….
- $40 provides a homeless individual with two weeks’ worth of bus passes to get back and forth to a new job until they receive their first paycheck.
- $100 buys school uniforms, school supplies, and a toy for a homeless child.
- $500 provides a family with their first month of rent on a standard two-bedroom apartment.
- $1000 provides tuition for Certified Nursing Assistance (CNA) training and certification.
Give HOPE to homeless families in Indy! Click here to help!
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