TURNING EMPTY HOUSES INTO HOMES

Bringing Hope Home program supports rehousing efforts with household essentials and delivery support from SVdP thrift stores and transportation teams

By Troy Hill

Pamela stood in the doorway of her new apartment with two blue suitcases. At one point, not long ago, all she had fit into those two little cases on wheels.

She had been living out of her car until getting into St. Vincent de Paul’s Ozanam Manor, a transitional housing facility for people over 50, veterans and adults with disabilities. Pamela lived there for two years while regaining stability and eventually qualified for an apartment in a complex just outside of downtown Phoenix.

There was just one problem: She didn’t have any furniture or household basics. Like so many people freshly rehoused, Pamela would have faced an empty apartment and the burden of acquiring essentials if it weren’t for SVdP’s new program: Bringing Hope Home.

Bringing Hope Home comes in after SVdP case managers have helped secure housing for someone previously on the street or in a SVdP shelter. The program combines the resources and power of SVdP’s thrift stores and transportation team to set up the newly housed individual or family with household essentials and furniture, which SVdP delivers on move-in day.

“Bringing Hope Home literally helps finalize the rehousing process by furnishing that home,” said Mike McClanahan, the director of retail operations at SVdP.

On this day, it was Pamela’s scheduled move-in and chance to experience the magic of the program.

Mike and team developed the Bringing Hope Home program in the hopes of reducing the number of individuals or families returning to homelessness simply because they couldn’t overcome the large upfront costs that come with moving and acquiring furniture.

“We like to say that we turn houses into homes,” says Irma Leyendecker, SVdP’s director of mission advancement who teams up with Mike to help manage the program.

When Bringing Hope Home first started, the team helped one individual or family each month. But the need for such a program and its success in easing the transition into housing became quickly apparent. Now it helps up to eight individuals or families per week.

SVdP case managers working with individuals and families in the rehousing pipeline refer guests to the program after they’ve helped establish housing for them. After receiving the referral, the Bringing Hope Home team coordinates a date with the guest to go to a SVdP thrift store and pick out new furniture and household essentials for their apartment.

Individuals are given up to $1,000 to spend in store, while families receive up to $2,000. That money goes far thanks to the affordable thrift store prices. And the items aren’t beat up or on their last legs either. SVdP does quality control and requires gently used donations, so shoppers and guests are sure to get things in good condition.

Mike said one of his favorite moments is when he sees the reaction on children’s faces when they realize they have a bed.

“Because I’ve talked to kids, anywhere from six to 10 years old, and they’ve been sleeping in the car for the last six months to a year. They’re finally getting a bed and they realize that’s where they’re going to sleep tonight, and they’re jumping up on the bed because they’re so excited,” Mike said. “You just tear up every time. They usually say, ‘Mommy, Daddy, I got my own bed! I got my own bed!’ Stuff that we take for granted but is so appreciated by an innocent child.”

Both Mike and Irma are reluctant to take much credit for the huge influence the program is having on many people’s lives. They see the program as another step in the SVdP service journey and a credit to the community who helps make the work possible.

“It’s not just us, it’s the organization and the community as a whole,” Irma said. “It’s the Resource Center, the dining rooms, the shelters, and the generous people supporting our programs who are getting them housed. We’re just a continuation of the work.”

SVdP is even hoping to extend the support structure beyond move-in day to after a guest has been in their own place. Currently, the nonprofit is piloting a “Homecoming Corps” to be operated out of its network of neighborhood food pantries and assistance centers across the Valley. They will continue with any needed food and bill assistance as rehoused guests adjust to their new circumstances.

The Bringing Hope Home team urges those interested in supporting rehousing efforts to consider donating gently used household items, especially those home essentials ranging from furniture to pots and pans and bedding. And the same transportation team that helps on Bringing Hope Home delivery days is the exact same team who makes scheduled donation pickups possible.

“We have drivers that will go pick it up, and we have people that will bring it back. And we’ll get to give it a new home and a new life with a new family.”

Back at Pamela’s new apartment, the transportation team started hauling furniture inside. Only a few days earlier, she had shopped at SVdP’s Hope Chest Thrift Store to pick out some of the things she would need to make a new home — a bed, a couch, a wardrobe, some nightstands, a table and chairs.

Pamela looked up from her two suitcases and saw her apartment filled. She had a solid table to eat on, a place for her clothes, a couch to kick up her feet and a comfortable bed to rest and lay her head.

Pamela was home.

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