A BEACON OF HOPE
House of Hope began as a grassroots effort in the late 1990's. Healthcare workers from the Hospital Sisters Health System in Green Bay recognized that young mothers who lacked a safe and stable residence were not receiving adequate prenatal and postnatal care for themselves or their infants.
This group talked with the Adolescent Parenting Coalition, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Salvation Army to form a collaborative effort that created House of Hope as a Wisconsin Association for Homeless and Runaway Services Second Chance Home. The group worked to pass the second chance home bill in Wisconsin and developed partnerships with numerous community agencies in order to provide a holistic program for the young mothers and children at House of Hope.
A year after opening the shelter in 2000, the group realized that the four bedroom home St. Vincent de Paul provided was too small for the community need that presented. St. Vincent de Paul supported the need by purchasing the current shelter facility in the name of Frederick Ozanam, St. Vincent de Paul's founder in hopes that no young mother or child born into poverty would have to suffer.
BUILDING HOPE
In 2001, House of Hope opened ten rooms in its current facility. House of Hope worked on creating a program that effects real change for its clients and slowly began opening additional rooms as the waiting list to stay at House of Hope continued to grow.
In 2018, House of Hope completed a major capital campaign, the Key to Hope, to expand the shelter facility and program. House of Hope opened the doors of the newly expanded shelter facility in 2019.
House of Hope Green Bay can now serve 20 families at any given time. An average of eighteen new families are added to the House of Hope waiting list each month.