New Hope for Families

HISTORY  

              In 2011, New Hope for Families started in a little house near the corner of 2nd and Rogers because some of our local community members were concerned about Monroe County not having a place for families to go together if they were experiencing homelessness. Emily Pike, the executive director, said “They just saw a need and cared enough about our community to do something about it.” Over the next 5 years, the New Hope for Families business expanded into two more houses: a house for early learning and an office house. Moving into two more houses opened up the opportunity for an educational program for kids six and under. It was started by Ken Ritchie, Sue Shindell, Jim Riley, Ronland “Bud” Kohr, who was represented by his wife Jan Kohr, and Mike Gentile. There were many hard things about moving to the other two houses, one of which was that the houses hadn’t been lived in for a long time and so the staff had to make them habitable. New Hope provides 12 emergency houses for families, while their skilled and caring team work with the families to help them move from homelessness to stability. They also have a preschool/daycare for 54 children. 

Connection to the Community

New Hope is an amazing place. For example, they provide emergency shelter for up to 12 families and a full-day childcare program for up to 54 children ranging between newborns and five year olds. New Hope continues to help the families even after they leave by finding a house for them so they remain stable. More than 80% move out into stable housing, as compared to a state average of 32%. New Hope provides shelter to people at risk or experiencing homelessness. New Hope has raised over $3.25 million with a goal of $5.7 million. They served 13,791 people in 2020. Some other places like New Hope are Beacon, and the Coalition for the Homeless. According to Emily Pike, “New Hope is important to Bloomington because it reflects and exists because of our community's values. In most of the country families have to separate if they become homeless.” They have partnered with various organizations to further their mission. Recent partners have included the City of Bloomington, Heading Home of South Central Indiana, and Andy Mohr Honda.