HOMES OF HOPE INC

Homes of Hope rebuilds communities and individual lives through housing, economic development, and job training. We aim to see our housing clients operating on the 3 B's of financial wellness (budgeting, banking, and building savings) and to see the graduates of our Men's Development program equipped with better education, affordable and reliable transportation, affordable and energy-efficient housing, and stable employment. Our goals revolve around facilitating true life change in our clients' lives so our positive impacts are long-term and sustainable.

We use four main strategies in developing affordable housing:
1) Affordable Rental Housing: affordable and energy efficient rental housing allows families time to breathe and escape survival mode.
2) Home Ownership: some families are over-income for other housing programs, but still can't afford market-rate homeownership. We fill that gap.
3) LoCAL Housing: families living at poverty-level have very few good housing options; our LoCAL housing program provides them with Long-term, Compact, Affordable, and LEED-standard homes.
4) Housing Solution for Homeless Service Providers: families transitioning from homeless services programs need a permanent housing solution and we partner with local organizations to help make home happen for people experiencing homelessness.

We aim to see men graduate our program with the following Four Pillars:
1) Affordable Housing
2) Education Improvement
3) Marketability & Living Wage Employment
4) Affordable and Reliable Transportation

We use partnerships with local colleges and employers to provide job and life skills to the men in our program and ensure these four pillars are met when they graduate.

In our 23 years of operation, we have developed strong partnerships and best practices for accomplishing our goals. Through our collaborations with other service providers in the Upstate, we are able to provide wrap-around services to our clients and identify vulnerable families who qualify for our programs. Our partnerships with the local technical college and electrical firms in the area have guaranteed employment above the self-sustaining wage for all our graduates of the Men's Development program in the last two years.
Homes of Hope also maintains a strong culture of constant improvement and learning, sending staff members to conferences and classes so we can better serve our clients and run an efficient and responsible program that meets our goals.

So far, we have developed 643 units of affordable rental housing in Upstate South Carolina and graduated 321 men from our Men's Development Program.