Home Residences Application Information
Application Information

 

Women of Hope

 

Overview

Women of Hope is a family sized residence where we welcome women who are ready to build a new life in the community.  Each woman has her own room and shares the rest of the house with the other residents.  We share evening meals together, and as a house we regularly sponsor outreach activities at the house that welcomes others to share in the new life we are learning to live.  Each woman makes a plan for daily living that addresses an overall set of principles for healthy living and works with a mentor/sponsor to put that plan into action each day.  The goal of the house is to do those things that help each of us move forward with reclaiming our life and encouraging and supporting one another as we do it.  Residents find a lot of fun and laughter accompany daily activities.  Many who come to the house remark how it is a place of peace.  We intentionally include God in our living because we believe that as we listen to God’s will and walk in it, our lives are the most fulfilled and the most happy.  All residents attend small groups/12-step groups and get involved in a church.  Friendships in the house and the recovery community are essential to ongoing health and building a life beyond those circles adds the balance that makes life safe, satisfying, and settled.

Purpose

To provide a safe, supportive, spiritual, and semi-autonomous environment for individuals as they move from structured treatment or recovery facilities towards independent living in the community.


Foundational Commitment of Potential Clients

  1. A desire to live a balanced life free from chemical dependencies and/or destructive relationships and filled with purposeful interactions in society, with God, and in caring relationships
  2. A commitment to the formation of an individualized weekly plan and an accountability reflection partnership with a mentor or partner to include goals for use of time, finances, and personal growth activities.
  3. A commitment to residence in the house for a particular period of time (i.e. 3 – 6 months minimum, once again determined on a case-by-case basis but with the goal of building community with other residents having equal weight to the individual’s planning)
  4. A commitment to living within the standards and house policies.


House Standards and Policies

You’ll find information on a variety of topics that relate to life in the house.  They are in no particular order and hopefully address many of the questions a potential resident might have about what the structure of life in the house looks like.  Please feel free to note and ask questions about any area not addressed or if you wonder about what is written here.

Residents have open access to the house and the privacy of their own room.  In order to maintain a clean, sober and safe environment, doors may be closed but not locked.  After some months of successful living senior residents may lock doors or desks, etc. but for any locked areas a key must be provided to house staff.  Room inspections will be scheduled, as deemed necessary for the purpose of maintaining the commitment to the lifestyle outlined above.

Life skills planning on an individual or group basis will include the formation of a weekly plan, a weekly reflection session with a life skills coach/mentor/partner and any further contacts as is deemed useful (to be determined on a case-by-case basis).  This plan will include time management, budgeting, and personal growth activities.

Note: At this stage of recovery it is assumed that residents are actively taking steps for work in the community.  That can take the form of employment, education, or volunteering and various combinations of these three. Therefore, it is expected that work, education or volunteer activities will fill the majority of the “working hours” from Monday to Friday each week and that the time management plan will provide focus and structure.  It is the clear intention of the program that residents move away from welfare assistance and move towards responsible stewardship.  After three months of successful planning, this will take on a more informal nature, with written plans for 3 or 6 month goals forming the basis of informal accountability checks.

Residents will participate in house community-building activities such as daily devotions, shared meals (Monday to Thursday evenings), and recreational events, as determined by life skills coach and the schedules of house residents.  A regular schedule of interaction will be determined but will be flexible based on the needs of the house community members.

Day to day living without drug or alcohol use and any other destructive relationship or habit that an individual and her mentor have identified as detrimental.  (Note: As Christians we believe the pursuit of any form of a sexually active common-law relationship with a person of the same or opposite sex to be outside Biblical teaching and therefore detrimental.  For individuals new in recovery, we believe the principle of remaining free from a relationship or the pursuit of the same for one year to be worthy of our support.)

Regular participation in 12-step and church fellowship groups (number of meetings determined by mutual agreement of life skills coach/mentor/partner and resident.) Regular interaction with a supportive sponsor/mentor from both a 12-step program and the Christian community is strongly recommended.

Rent responsibility will consist of the housing allowance portion of the Social Service monthly allotment or 35% of one’s monthly income, if not subsidized by Social Services, up to the maximum of the Social Service monthly allotment.  The purpose of this practice is to encourage individuals to find employment and to assist them in the early stages when finances may be limited.  (Note: A rent penalty will be assessed for anyone leaving the house without 30 days notice or asked to leave due to noncompliance with house standards and practices.)

A food budget will be established by individual life skills plan.  (Budget will fall within the funding available through Social Services for room and board or approximately $125 per person per month) Framework for individual meal preparation and group meals will be determined through house meetings, and subject to change according to agreements with resident clients.

Upkeep of the house is the responsibility of residents with regular housecleaning duties and schedule for completion to be decided through house meetings.

A telephone line with a long distance block (or discount plan) and cable connection will be established in the house.  Cost for general phone line will be included in the monthly rental fee.  Residents will share long distance fees.  In most cases, computer availability with e-mail access will be provided.  Violent, occultic, or sexually explicit material is not allowed through any of these media.

Curfews are unofficial but in keeping with the work schedule of house residents, lights must be out and television off between 11 p.m. and midnight during the week and by 1 p.m. on the weekend.

Residents should sign out for the purpose of information being given to those who telephone, meal planning, and accountability.  When a resident plans to stay out overnight, she should sign out or call back to the house by 11 p.m.

Overnight visitors must be cleared a day in advance.

House meetings take place as needed to share concerns and express our appreciation.  Chores and house duties are clarified as needed.  We seek to spend time together both to keep lines of communication open and also to enjoy each other’s company.

Household Duties: Each resident has responsibility for cooking one evening meal per week.  One household chore is assigned to be completed regularly throughout the week.  Laundry days are scheduled at the house meeting and are flexible within individual schedules.  Volunteer tasks connected to the outreach activities sponsored by the house are considered part of the house experience for each person.

Smoking: This is a smoke free house but smoking areas are designated for the convenience of the residents.

Television: To encourage interaction with other members of the household and to discourage isolation, television viewing is limited to after 4 p.m. each day.  (Weekends are more flexible.) There are several televisions in the house. After several months of healthy interactions, a senior resident may request a television outlet in their bedroom and be responsible for any additional cable charges.

Common Areas: Common areas of the house should be tidied up and kept neat by the residents who use them.  For example, the coffee table in the living room and den should be cleared and wiped after someone entertains guests.  The dishes used in the kitchen should be put in the dishwasher, not left on the counter or in the sink.  Individuals are responsible for their own clutter.

House Guests and Hospitality: Guests are welcome within reasonable consideration of the other residents in the house.  Meal guests should be planned for in advance so the cook knows how many to plan for and so we are able to maintain a sense of family as well as offer hospitality.  Entertaining should take place in the common areas of the house like the living room and the den.

Office and outreach: The office is off-limits to residents when staff is not there.  Residents are asked to respect the need for office hours without interruption and to balance that with house and personal needs.

Sunday is an “outreach” day for the house.  We welcome our friends who attend church with us to come back, have lunch, and spend the afternoon here.  There is one volunteer task assigned to each house resident around this event so we can provide hospitality with grace.  Residents are expected to maintain an attitude of welcome and hospitality towards invited guests, regardless of their condition in life and recovery.  Residents understand that this means sometimes people will come to the house for meetings or appointments who are struggling to find recovery. Family of residents who are visiting from out of town are welcome at the house as space is available.


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