HOPE HARBOR INC
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Mission Statement
Vision: As a harbor of hope, we will create, through God’s transforming power, a thriving community. Mission: We will break the cycle of poverty for individuals, families and future generations in West Baltimore. Strategy: We seek out our neighbors who hunger for change and welcome them into a long-term partnership that will enable economic, social, and spiritual well-being. Guided and protected by God’s loving embrace, our shared journey includes listening, planning and identifying resources that will build new skills and create opportunities. Working as a team, and using a comprehensive approach to overcome our challenges, together we will transform our community.
About This Cause
Hope Harbor is unique in several ways. Instead of focusing on solving society-wide problems that create or maintain poverty, Hope Harbor focuses on the people affected by poverty. Another unique aspect of Hope Harbor’s approach is to work intensively with a small number of families over many years, as opposed to many families for a shorter time frame. Long-term goals are established in partnership with a skilled paid Family Outreach Worker. Short-term and long-term objectives are developed in support of these goals, and a network of community service providers and family volunteers do “whatever it takes” to ensure success. Through this approach, Hope Harbor is making lasting changes in the well being of these families and the neighborhoods they live in. Current activities of Hope Harbor include but are not limited to the following: • Tutoring is provided on a weekly basis to students • Financial assistance has been provided for rent, gas and electric and other household necessities. • Music lessons were provided to one partner and she is now teaching music lessons to provide income to the household • Provided assistance in helping a family obtain their disability benefits • Provided assistance to help a family find housing. • Assisted a partner with negotiations with the hospital for bill forgiveness (he had extensive surgery and could not pay the bill. We advocated on his behalf to eliminate the debt. • Made a court appearance to advocate for a partner with multiple traffic violations to reduce jail time. • Provided mental health counseling • Assisted a youth as it relates to college readiness, which included the purchase of a computer. • Assist individuals as they seek employment • Help to rehabilitate a home to make it livable for one of our families. • Assist families with food and other items during the holiday season. 5. Project Goals The primary goal of Hope Harbor is to transform the life of our partners, leading to their economic, social, and spiritual well-being. Over time, we fully expect to accomplish several additional goals: The community will thrive as the lives of the individuals within the community begin to change. Gaps in existing services for the poor will be identified and corrected. Advocates for the socially and economically disadvantaged will be created, enabling broad social policy changes to occur. A new model for combating poverty, effective on scales from the local to the national level, will be validated. 8. Program Evaluation Hope Harbor has identified multiple levels of success; each has its own metrics: 1. Are we achieving the short-term objectives defined in the plan created by the Family Outreach Worker and the partners, and formally agreed to as part of their covenant with Hope Harbor? These objectives are well defined and easily documented (example: are the children attending school every day). Success at this level means we are on track to achieve our primary mission. These goals and objectives are evaluated every 60 days. This is the map that guides the work of the Family Outreach worker and the volunteers. This plan is developed with the partner and they agree to what is to be accomplished. The Family Outreach Worker will meet with them to ensure they are on task. Short-term goals are celebrated, as these successes become encouragement as families tackle more complex and long term goals. 2. Are we achieving the long-term life goals defined in the plan created by the Family Outreach Worker and the partners, and formally agreed to as part of their covenant with Hope Harbor? These goals are also well defined (example: does the mother have employment that provides sufficient economic resources for the family?). Success at this level is the primary focus of Hope Harbor when working with a specific individual/family. An example of such a success is we had a young mother that use to teach music lessons. It had been quite some time and she was not confident in her skills or ability to teach again. She was given piano lessons, which not only sharpened her skills but also gave her the confidence she needed to each others. She is now teaching music lessons and is providing some income to the household. We hope to increase the number of people receiving lessons, which in turn will increase household income. This happened as a result of her being in the program. This will have a long-term impact on the family. Another example is we had a young man that was struggling in school. We tutored him one on one and he successfully graduated. He is now interested in attending college. We are helping him with that by assisting him in completing college and financial aid applications as well as taking him on college visits. Additionally we purchased a computer for him, as he will definitely need one once he begins college. This family would not have been able to achieve this without our assistance. A final example of success is we are working closely with a family to assist them in obtaining home ownership. A house was obtained that was affordable for this family. The house was in need of a great deal of repairs. We, along with other volunteers have assisted with this. We are also providing them with items needed for their new home. We are also helping them with improving and establishing their credit. Once their credit is repaired the house will be turned over to them and they will make the mortgage payments. Not only does this allow them to have home ownership but it also helps them to have great credit. This is another example of a task that will have a long-term impact and help a family move out of poverty. 3. Are we achieving long-lasting economic, social, and spiritual well-being for our neighbors? This level of success is less well defined, but can be analyzed by demographic information (% of people completing high school, median income level, etc.), as well as by the number of people we are directly serving. Success at this level means Hope Harbor has demonstrated a viable, scalable model of addressing poverty. 4. Have we created advocates for the socially and economically disadvantaged? This level of success could be measured by such metrics as the level of spending (at the local or state level) that support services, or the creation of new services that fill important gaps in the safety net for the poor, or increased educational support in targeted neighborhoods. Success at this level means Hope Harbor is improving the quality of resources available to the poor. 5. Have we demonstrated a new paradigm for addressing poverty? This level of success can be measured by how much Hope Harbor grows in terms of people supported, and by how many new organizations are created that operate according to our model. Success at this level means Hope Harbor has fundamentally changed the way the nation operates when it comes to combating poverty. While Hope Harbor is capable of achieving all of these levels of success, our focus and mission are targeted towards the first two. Items three through five will be met as Hope Harbor continues to be successful, and as we expand the number of partners in our program.