Furnish the Future: A Transformation into Comfort and Hope

For the residents in HopeTree's Therapeutic Group Homes, their journey has brought them to HopeTree so that they may have a structured setting to best learn to cope with their emotional and behavioral challenges. At full capacity, HopeTree can accommodate up to 16 youth in two group homes - one for girls and one for boys. The average stay is three to six months with the ultimate goal to get residents back home, into treatment foster care, or independent living with support for college or vocational training.

Youth arrive at the group homes with severe behavioral issues and complex trauma. From the start, we want them to feel comfortable and at ease. We want to provide an inviting environment and surroundings in which they will live. While we excel at enhancing the emotional, educational, physical, social, and spiritual development of each adolescent, the facilities themselves were in urgent need of updates and replacement.

We set about updating the two group home cottage accommodations in 2023 and found that it would cost approximately $10,000 to refurnish both buildings. Thanks to the generosity of Friendship Baptist Church in Glade Spring, Virginia and of an anonymous donor, we were able to reach $6,000 toward our goal by July of that year - but still another $4,000 off the total needed.

In November, Millfield Baptist Church came through to take us over the finish line. Each year, Millfield celebrates Thanksgiving with a covered-dish supper the Sunday before Thanksgiving, with a dessert auction following the meal. On this evening packed with food, fun, and fellowship, nearly $8,000 was raised, with half going to HopeTree - taking us to our goal of $10,000.

From here we were set to purchase beds, dressers, nightstand, and more for all 16 youth. Once the furniture was purchased from Virginia Furniture Market, their employees generously helped to cover the costs of delivery.

Thank you so much to the efforts of Franklin Dowless and the congregation at Millfield Baptist, Friendship Baptist Church, and Virginia Furniture Market to help us bring the comforts of home to the youth at HopeTree!