Homes With Hope, Inc.
Dedicated to Ending Homelessness in Fairfield County
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Homes with Hope is dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness and food insecurity in Fairfield County, CT, by providing diversion services, safe emergency shelter, case management services, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and academic and mentoring support to youth and young adults.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Food Pantry & Community Kitchen
The Food Pantry and Community Kitchen are located at the Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place Emergency Shelter. The Food Pantry distributes non-perishable food to Homes with Hope clients and all members of the surrounding communities that are food insecure. The Community Kitchen provides meals to shelter clients and community members in need 365 days a year. Both programs are supported and maintained by dedicated members of the community.
Gillespie Center & Hoskins Place Emergency Shelter
The Gillespie Center is Homes with Hope's 15-bed emergency shelter for single men aged 18 and over. Hoskins Place, located in the same building, is a 4-bed emergency shelter for single women aged 18 and over. These 24-hour facilities provide Case Management Services and utilize a Housing First service model to assist residents in ending their homelessness.
Project Return
Project Return/Susie’s House is dedicated to supporting and empowering young women who have been impacted by homelessness. Project Return consists of six single-occupancy en suite bedrooms. The home offers a stable and nurturing housing solution with on-site support services that provide women the opportunity to develop long-term self-sufficiency. The fully integrated Congregate Housing Program prioritizes homeless women aged 18 to 24.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Homes with Hope's dedicated Permanent Supportive Housing Case Managers assist chronically homeless individuals living with mental illness. Homes with Hope oversees fifty-two units of permanent supportive housing in Westport and Norwalk, Connecticut, for individuals and families who have experienced homelessness. Case Managers assist residents with the tools they need to maintain housing stability and independent living. Homes with Hope's Permanent Supportive Housing Program annually serves over 80 men, women, and children.
Diversion Services
The lack of affordable housing and the high cost of rent and living in Fairfield County have created a greater demand for diversion services. Shelter Diversion is a strategy that prevents individuals and families from entering the homeless response system by identifying immediate alternative housing arrangements and connecting them with services and financial assistance to help them return to permanent housing. Diversion intends to give someone who has become homeless a positive alternative to entering an emergency shelter or being unsheltered. Homes with Hope's Diversion Services Program serves approximately 200 individuals per year.
Rapid Rehousing Program
Rapid Rehousing involves a two-pronged approach to ending homelessness. Financial assistance plus Case Management services create an opportunity for many individuals and families to end their homelessness quickly. Short-term case management services connect these clients to needed resources, helping them successfully maintain their housing into the future. Two of Homes with Hope's three Case Managers work exclusively with young adults aged 18-24.
ASAP
Homes with Hope After School Academic Program (ASAP) is a small site-based after-school program for children and teens who live in Homes with Hope's Supportive Housing. The goal is to provide consistent structure, positive role models, academic support, and enrichment activities to help students develop the skills they need to be successful at school and in their personal lives.
HEAL
HEAL (Health Empathy Altruism Love) is designed to assist middle and high school students who have experienced some form of trauma with the goal of helping participants HEAL through service to others. Serving a projected 80 adolescents, HEAL sessions are offered once a week for a total of 24 to 29 times per year, with at least one session per month dedicated to a community service activity/outing. Annual programs include Habits of Gratitude, Self-Care Week, Women in Leadership Talks, and College Prep.
Introduced in 2009, HEAL was developed to provide adolescent female students with a safe space, a sense of belonging and achievement, and self-confidence as participants work through different forms of trauma. The program design is based upon Dr. Richard Mollica’s groundbreaking work discussed in his book Healing Invisible Wounds: “Altruism is a special kind of mutual cooperation in social relationships...by helping someone else in a non-selfish way, the survivor engages in self-healing.
The Mentoring Initiative
The Mentoring Initiative matches individuals who find themselves struggling in various ways with volunteer mentors from the community. Current mentees register for nine months of 1-on-1 mentoring. There is also the option of a six-week WE HEAL (Women's Empowerment) group session in the fall and one in the spring.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people using homeless shelters per week
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Gillespie Center & Hoskins Place Emergency Shelter
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Homes with Hope's Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place Emergency Shelter consistently serves 12 individuals per week. This number increases during cold weather protocol when additional cots are added.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Food Pantry & Community Kitchen
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Homes with Hope has an extensive network of community volunteers who support our Food Pantry, Community Kitchen, and the beautification of our Permanent Supportive Housing sites.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Homes with Hope consistently serves over 800 clients per year through our programs. The lack of affordable housing has significantly impacted the number of people placed in stable housing in 2022.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Homes with Hope's mission is to provide facilities and supportive services in a structured environment that enable homeless people in the communities we serve to achieve an independent and self-sufficient life. Operating in a suburban community of 28,000, we do not fit the mold of a traditional homeless shelter. We have proven over our 37 years of providing emergency shelter and 22 years of providing supportive housing, that scaling down the homeless “problem" to smaller communities can be more effective in moving homeless and chronically homeless back into a positive housing situation.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Homes With Hope, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 04/25/2023
Mr. John Walsh
Warner Lambert, Retired
Term: 2001 - 2023
Ms. Jennifer Ferrante
Center for Family Justice
Term: 2016 - 2023
Bruce Hennemuth
Morgan Stanley, Retired
Bruce Gaylord
Terex Corporation, Retired
Chan Wheeler
Health One Plan
Jeffrey Gurren
Title Associates, Inc., Retired
Brian Baxendale
Pitney Bowes, Retired
Carol Randel
Norwalk Community College, Retired
Missy Zahler
OperationsInc
Dale Fredstone
Sterling National Bank, Retired
Natasha Lipcan
Legal Consultant
Rebecca Martin
Freelance Writer
Beth Massoud
Mitchells Stores
Lauren Soloff
Sonics & Materials, Inc.
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/27/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.