No Place Like Home

Thursday, October 8, 2009 by Hank Rush

I just spent the last week moving into a new home for my family. During these past few weeks as we have been finalizing and moving into our new home, my thoughts have especially been on what "home" means for our Star of Hope men, women and children.

Our clients have each lost it all… gone is their apartment or their home. They’ve worn out their welcome with friends where they can stay a while, family members willing to take them in. As I watched my daughter and son excitedly explore their new rooms and begin to unpack, I thought of a family at our Women & Family Emergency Shelter who won’t be returning to their home. Their daughter will not be safe and happy in her own room this Thanksgiving or Christmas. The loss of mom’s or dad’s job, or worse, alcoholism or abuse has forced them out to the streets and onto Star of Hope’s front doorsteps, seeking help.

Well, the good news is we’re here to catch them! Star of Hope is the temporary home, family, and community that will keep them safe, clothed and fed while they begin to rebuild. We’ll be the shelter that surrounds them with God’s love as they start their journey toward a new life. Our goal at Star of Hope is not only to lead God’s children to an apartment or house – but to a home, full of love and caring and a true joy in living that comes from our Lord.

Because of your generosity, Star of Hope continues daily to provide the tools for this family and many others to move on to their new future and their new home. The holidays are right around the corner – and “home for the holidays” sounds pretty good to me. I invite you to visit us at www.sohmission.org right now to discover ways to help us be “home” during the holidays. Thank you for giving your time, talents and gifts for so many through Star of Hope!
 

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Comments for No Place Like Home

Saturday, October 10, 2009 by Jean Solis:
I have written before about how thrilled I was when, as a SOH client, by daughter received her first pair of Nike tennis shoes from SOH. Now, after reading what you've written about the holidays, I must make sure you know something. When my daughter, Alexia, & I were there, we had no one but each other. We had no income, no TANF, no child support...nothing. When Xmas came, I was so depressed at the fact that I could do absolutely nothing for my girl. To make matters worse, her birthday is Xmas Day, so it was a double whammy. But it turned out that the best Xmas Days that we ever had were at SOH. Every time we turned around, there was another group coming to the facility to leave gifts for the kids or to take us off premises for dinner and presents. We received BAGS of gifts...more than I could have ever done myself, even if I HAD a job. Alexia is not a girly girl; she is an extreme tomboy who just didn't like dolls at all, so she gave all of her more "feminine" gifts to the other little girls while the SOH staff dug through all the donated gifts looking for basketballs, footballs, and games for my daughter so that she would feel as special as the little girls who loved their dolls. I remember my Case Manager, Lisa Johnson, was so excited on our first Xmas there (we were there for 2 Xmases) because she had trudged through the warehouse looking specifically for "boy toys" for my daughter and found her a football & basketball, which Alexia still has to this day. Then, since it was also Alexia's birthday, the staff made sure that she had a little something extra to ensure she had a couple of birthday presents to celebrate a special Xmas birthday. And, some of the most fun she and I have ever had was decorating the doors to the apartment for the decorating contest. We would stay up all night both years arguing, giggling, cutting, and pasting decorations - and we actually won once! The door decorating was something we had never done before that, but we continued it even after we moved because it had become a "tradition" for us. Having to stay in a shelter or a transitional living facility is not easy; in fact, it's very difficult sometimes living under those circumstances. But holidays like we shared at Christmastime over there are things that make the situation more tolerable and left us with sweet memories that will hold special places in our hearts forever.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 by Air Jordan shoes:
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Monday, March 22, 2010 by Scott McKinley:
I'm glad you found Star of Hope's blog. Thanks for the question about RSS feeds. You can find the RSS button in the left column. Just click on it to receive content updates. You can also click on the "receive email news and more" button to receive email updates and notifications.

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