25 Oct Hope Forest will officially be home to two incredible families in a few short weeks

…a message from Executive Director Marsha Eichelberger

We are so excited to announce that Hope Forest will officially be home to two incredible families in a few short weeks! It’s been a huge undertaking only made possible by the generosity and indefatigable hard work of many, many people. The house had to be completely gutted and redone almost from scratch, but it is now a beautiful property anyone would be proud to call home.

The idea of being house-proud is an interesting and important one for us. So often, families experiencing homelessness or food insecurity simply make-do with whatever they can find. It’s not that desperate families are not grateful; they are, and they know how lucky they are to have anything. But sometimes the idea of having something nice or something new in someplace safe seems an impossible, beautiful dream.

Each apartment at Hope Gardens and Hope Forest is managed and maintained by a congregation that sees the humanity and dignity of our families. They are beautiful, clean and welcoming places where both children and adults feel safe and comforted. They are places a family wants to keep nice but also places that make the next step up seem possible. This has certainly been the case for one single mother about to move into one of the new apartments at Hope Forest. Like so many of our residents, she experienced homelessness as a child. She remembers how it felt when her family was evicted and sees the opportunity at Hope Forest as a stepping stone to the ultimate security of home ownership. She’s been working both a full time and part time job and still hasn’t been able to provide her Kindergartner and one year old with stable, safe housing. Now, thanks to you all, they have a gorgeous new apartment home. The other family moving into Hope Forest understands these struggles as well. The single mother is working while also going to school to become a nurse, in hopes that she can both provide her third grade daughter with a better life and help others.

Yes, we at Inter-Faith help in emergency situations but our work is so much more: we help families regain their pride, their dignity, and give them hope that good things can happen and stability is possible. Thanks to your help, the potential of these parents and children is limitless.

Thank you.

Executive Director Marsha Eichelberger