The Homes of Hope Permanent Housing Program provides housing with support services to “benefit low to moderate-income” families of Saint Louis County residents who are currently homeless and are disabled. These families can access the program through emergency shelters and thus getting a referral into the housing program. While in the subsidized permanent housing program, the participants receive comprehensive case management designed to enable the participant to live independently and avoid being homeless at a future date. Each family completes a detailed intake and screening process with the case manager and that information is used to formulate a comprehensive care plan for that client and all members of the family. The Homes of Hope program utilizes a strengths-based case management approach to enable the client to address their needs and adhere to their case plan. The case manager also assists the client in strengthening their ability to maintain their household, pay utility bills in a timely manner, make appropriate long-term decisions and employ effective parenting strategies. The permanent housing program will also admit those individuals with substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence backgrounds. Those individuals receive more intensive services to address those issues. The Homes of Hope Program is an important step for the participant and will help The Salvation Army along with the St. Louis County Department of Human Services accomplish goals set forth in the 10-year plan to reduce homelessness.

The Homes of Hope Program is comprised of twenty-two (22) scattered-site housing units consisting of 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom housing units. As a family moves into the program; they are provided with household items, furnishings, and other basic necessities to get them stabilized. The Homes of Hope Program consists of housing units located throughout the St. Louis County area, each head of household signs a lease with the property owner and is responsible for their own utility bills.

The goal of Homes of Hope is to provide safe affordable subsidized housing with supportive services that will help the participants gain the tools necessary to achieve and maintain an improved lifestyle and, when possible or appropriate, to move into non-subsidized rental or permanent homeownership. Supportive services provided to families and chronically homeless individuals to help achieve this goal include, but are not limited to: education support services, financial counseling, individual and family counseling, improved job skills to include resume development, medication management, housekeeping training and assisting the parent with child issues as well. The case plan is reviewed every three months and modifications to the plan are made as needed to meet the needs of the client. The program is staffed with two (2) full-time case managers and a Housing Program Director. The staff is on-call 24 hours a day to ensure appropriate support services occur for the residents in this program.

During the first three year cycle of this program:

The Homes of Hope Program admitted twenty-five (25) families into the program, Ninety-two percent (92%) or 23 out of 25 families resided in the program for at least a year or more. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of those families that entered the program during this period either maintained or increased their income. One hundred percent (100%) of those families received appropriate individualized case management services which included bi-weekly home visits, client financial assistance, and referrals to outside resources. The Homes of Hope Program is an integral component of the St. Louis County Continuum of Care by providing permanent housing to address the needs of the disabled population.

The Homes of Hope Program has developed a comprehensive training calendar for the program participants, some of the sessions included:

• Training on the 7 Habits of Effective People
• Yourself and Your Social Network
• Developing Your Budget to Fit your Needs
• Household Management & Personal Safety
• Developing Healthy Relationships

The Homes of Hope Program has been the recipient of the Realtor Association Grant for the past 3 years and has succeeded in having several positive program monitoring results from the recent site visits to the program from St. Louis County.

For additional questions and/or information, please contact the Program Director; Pierre Hampton at (314) 603-1093.