THE NEED

This is one of 2 shelters in Somerset County which is the second poorest county in Maine with 14.9% living below the poverty line, according to the US Census Bureau. The worse the economy is, the greater the need for housing. In these tough economic times, more and more people are finding themselves homeless.

There are many reasons women become homeless. Some of those reasons are:

Lack of a solid family structure.

Developmental Disability or Mental Illness

Unemployment or Under-employment

Drug/alcohol addictions

Previous Incarceration

Jesus had a lot to say on the subject of taking care of the poor and homeless.

It is our mission to take care of homeless women and their young children. The Bible says in James 1:27 that this is “pure and undefiled religion."

HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S SHELTER

The new hope shelter was founded by Pastor Jack and Linda Weeks and opened on January 28, 2010 with one woman.  Within days there were several women residing in the unfinished north wing of the New Hope Church. The New Hope Church voted to make the shelter an official ministry of the church in June, 2010. In June of 2011, a ground-breaking ceremony was held to commence the building process.  In the fall of 2011, the ground was cleared of all trees and readied for the building to be started.The shelter is still in the north wing while we are in the beginning stages of building a new secure shelter which will enable us to house up to 25 women plus children. This new building will meet the requirements of the fire marshal who has granted our current home a temporary approval.  We are planning on beginning to dig the foundation in May of 2012.   In the first 2 years of operation, we have provided a place for over 200 women and 45 children. Many lives have been changed and we are excited to see the future of the shelter!

THE PROGRAM

Jesus teaches that there is hope for everyone! New Hope teaches the same principles, through our Christian program.

Our weekly schedule includes:

Prayer Meeting daily at 8 AM

Bible Study daily at 7 PM

Saturday - 6:00 PM Worship Service, Sunday - 9 AM Bible Study, 10:00 AM Worship Service

This is a SHORT- term program dedicated to help women get back out into society. Case Workers come into the shelter on a regular basis to help find appropriate housing for the women and their children. We encourage the women to find jobs and help them get set up in apartments.

Unlike state funded traditional shelters, people are not required to leave during the day and they are given twenty-four hour support and guidance. We give them New Hope for their lives.

The shelter requires residents to sign a contract when they enter. This contract prohibits the use of drugs or alcohol, requires residents to attend various required meetings, and take part in household chores. All medications are kept locked up, and dispensed under supervision of staff members. Because of the contract, the shelter cannot be funded by the state government. As such, this necessitates it being funded mostly through the donations of concerned individuals and organizations and churches.