Community Support Program

There’s a difference between being a choir member, and being friends with other choir members. A difference between attending civic league meetings, and actively serving on a committee. Between going bowling by yourself, and being on a bowling league. 

Those are the differences between merely living in the community – and having a life in the community. That’s why Hope House created our Community Support Program. It’s designed to increase opportunities for the people we support to take an active role within their communities, and to take existing relationships to deeper, more meaningful levels.

Here’s how it works: each team’s Community Support Coordinator works with the people we support to determine individual goals, needs, and preferences. Based on those, the coordinator and the individual work together on a plan to increase participation in events, clubs, and the community overall – which includes people with and without disabilities.

The Community Support Program has been enormously successful in empowering the people we support to be active, engaged members of their community. Moreover, their participation within the community has enriched the lives of many other people who have had the opportunity to recognize the unique gifts and talents of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

But club dues, memberships, tickets to events, sports equipment, and the like all cost money. And that’s something that’s in short supply for the people we support, most of whom live on less than $10,000 a year – well below the poverty level. It’s hard enough to pay for groceries, rent, and utilities, let alone little things like athletic shoes.

The results have been amazing. Many of the people we support are now involved in various volunteer groups, as well as classes for yoga, knitting, piano, and computer technology. They are getting involved in their communities, going to dances and socials, and learning how to make friends. Here are some of our success stories:

• Dwayne is taking a series of introductory level computer courses at the Norfolk Public Library. He also volunteers at the Portsmouth Humane Society.
   
• Sean is a member of the American Volksport Association, and recently completed his first 5K walk.
   
• A staff member reported that on a recent Saturday night, only one out of the ten persons supported by that Hope House team was at home. Everyone else was out on the town with friends – and not a single one was with a staff member.

Employment and volunteer work are also part of contributing to the community. And nearly half of the people supported by Hope House are employed, work in sheltered workshop settings, or volunteer within the community. People supported by Hope House hold jobs and volunteer positions with organizations such as the Louise Eggleston Center, Endependence Center, the SPCA, Foodbank, the Sugar Plum Bakery, our own Thrift Shop, and many other businesses throughout Hampton Roads.

If you’d like to make a donation of tickets, memberships, or other items that will benefit our Community Support Program, please contact Lauren Knowles at lknowles@hope-house.org or call her at 757-625-6161 extension 33.

If you prefer to make a cash donation to the program, please click here.