Hope Family Center

When leaders of Hope Ministries first began envisioning Hope Family Center, their goal was to meet the needs of the fastest-growing population of the homeless: single mothers and their children. Hope Family Center opened in the fall of 2004 and ever since has been welcoming homeless and displaced mothers and their children, or women seeking to regain custody of their children, and assisting them through our long-term Christian residential and life-recovery program.

In the years since Hope Family Center opened, we've seen a growing need for long-term recovery services for single women without children. That's why in February 2009, the decision was made to broaden the scope of our services to include homeless women without children.

Located at 3333 E. University Avenue in Des Moines, our Hope Family Center includes three eight-bedroom houses which become home to single women and children during their time in our H.E.A.R.T. Recovery Program.

Unlike many shelters which only house homeless women and families up to 30 days, leaving them still in crisis on day 31, our recovery program is an 18- to 24-month program designed help residents break free from the cycle of poverty and addiction so they can go on to become productive members of our community.

Our director of family ministries oversees all aspects of our program and staff, which includes case managers, a children's ministry coordinator and shift supervisors providing around-the-clock staffing. Many volunteers are also involved at Hope Family Center.

Hope Ministries is grateful to the Greater Des Moines Remodelers Council for donating $150,000 in time and talent as well as donated supplies from more than 60 companies to renovate the basement of one of our houses into classrooms, children's activity areas, classrooms, reception area and office space.

• OUR GOAL
• ESSENTIALS TO REAL LIFE CHANGE
• KEY ELEMENTS OF HOPE FAMILY CENTER
• RESIDENT TESTIMONIES AND STORIES
• A FUTURE WITH PURPOSE
• OUR FACILITY
• LIFE-CHANGING PRINCIPLES
• H.E.A.R.T. RECOVERY PROGRAM
• DAILY STRUCTURE
• BIBLE STUDY, DEVOTIONS, WORSHIP DISCIPLINES
• FAMILY CENTER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
• HOPE FAMILY CENTER PHOTO ALBUM

Our Goal

The goal of the Hope Family Center is to love, encourage and motivate mothers and children to consider making significant life-change. 

Essentials to real life change include:

1. Having a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ

2. Understanding God's Word, the Bible

3. Being in healthy relationships with others including accountability

4. Practicing introspective self-evaluation

5. Being equipped with life-skills

Key elements of Hope Family Center include:

1. A stable environment for children to thrive and women to grow and heal.

2. A well-designed, faith-based, Christ-centered program that encourages responsibility and accountability, while providing the tools and life-skills necessary for real, measurable progress toward independence.

3. Individual living facilities for each woman and family to promote family life and dignity with sufficient measures in place to ensure safety and security.

Resident's Testimonies and Stories

A Future with Purpose

Hope Family Center guides homeless women and children on a journey of hope called the H.E.A.R.T. Recovery Program. While in our H.E.A.R.T. program, women and families replace addiction, anger and confusion with Christ-centered tools that build maturity, and strength through these phases: healing, equipping, accountability, responsibility and transition.

Within the Hope Family Center's safe, clean environment, each woman and family receives 24-hour care and individualized case management. During their 18-24 months in the program, women overcome life-dominating habits; learn essentials such as growing in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and understanding the Bible; develop and manage healthy relationships; acquire self-evaluation and life-skills; and set goals for a more stable future and a future of HOPE.

Our facility:

Hope Family Center offers three ranch-style houses. Each house has bedrooms for women and families as well as shared living spaces. Other features of our Hope Family Center include:

• Front and back living room areas for family time and TV/movie viewing
• Food pantries in all three homes
• Toy rooms in all three houses
• Free on-site laundry rooms in each house
• A play area in the backyard donated and assembled by Cargill Corporation
• A renovated basement which includes staff offices, two activity areas for children and classrooms

Women in our recovery program are able to prepare meals in each home’s kitchen, which is stocked with staple grocery items provided by Hope Ministries and our many donors. Periodically, churches and other groups as well as individuals deliver prepared meals through our Meals for Hope program. Often women and families eat together in their homes dining room as their schedules permit.

Life-Changing Principles

Hope Family Center teaches and models biblically-based principles in order to help women and children be all that God intended them to be.

Our purpose is to assist women and families in the following areas:

1. Offer a variety of coursework with emphasis on spiritual development, recovery issues and, life-skills.
2. Introduce the basics of Christianity and the person of Jesus Christ.
3. Help women and children know and follow Christ by encouraging them to establish a Biblical relationship with Him.
4. Help women and children develop a Christ-like identity so they can establish healthy mutually supporting relationships. Residents learn to live by the following characteristics:
• Compassion
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Grace (undeserved love)
• Joy
• Kindness
• Patience
• Love
• Humility
• Mercy
• Peacefulness
• Perseverance
• Self-control
• Gratitude
5. Establish a care plan to will identify their personal goals.
6. Help women move toward accepting personal responsibility for their actions.

We also reach out to children through our children’s ministry:

Scripture states that children are a gift from the Lord. Therefore, we provide the following support ministry for children:

• Bible reading, stories, music and other activities
• Educational opportunities
• Fun, play, recreation
• Restoration and healing through parent involvement
• Counseling

The H.E.A.R.T. Recovery Program

The "heart" of the matter at Hope Family Center is healing and restoration in a long-term supportive environment. Our two-year H.E.A.R.T. Recovery Program is "grace-based" and unique in the State of Iowa. Our comprehensive continuum of care model focuses on five phases: healing, equipping, accountability, recovery and transition.

Program Components

Residents are provided opportunities to learn and grow in five basic areas, giving them a foundation on which to build a new life. Those areas include: spiritual development, recovery/counseling, life skills, education development and employment, and individualized case management.

To read more about these five program components, click here.

Daily Structure

During their first four months in our program, women attend intensive daily morning classes and afternoons are open for studying and other personal commitments.

Beginning in month five, program classes move to one day a week and women either begin working on their GED, attending continuing education or college classes, or working part-time. We highly encourage women in our program to pursue their education! Children go to school or off-site daycare while women are in classes. Thanks to a 2008 grant from Cargill Corporation, Hope Family Center is able to help women with childcare costs. (Read more about Cargill's support for education by clicking here.)

We conduct daily bedroom checks during residents’ first nine months to help establish good housekeeping skills. Women and families have daily home care chores to maintain their community living space.

Residents conduct a weekly house meeting and attend community meetings twice a week.

Bible study, devotions, worship disciplines

All classes and program elements are required, including our spiritual development track. (Other tracks include recovery and life skills.)

Elements of our spiritual development track include:

• Christianity 101 class which women start out in upon first entering our program
• Alpha curriculum which explores the basic principles of Christianity, geared toward non-believers, seekers and new believers
• Christianity 102, an eight-week "Growing in Christ" study, and Christianity 103
• Experience God study
• Purpose Driven Life study

During their first four months, women and families have daily devotions led by staff and volunteers in a class setting. The goal is to begin to build a foundation for the discipline as well as teach different devotional techniques. After four months, women lead or attend devotions with each other three times a week and do their own devotions on other days. Moms keep journals and report to their case manager.

We also require that women in our program find a church home within their first month in our program and then attend weekly. As women mature in their faith, they are encouraged to expand their study of God’s Word, pray daily and participate in Christian fellowship and outreach.

Hope After Care

At Hope Ministries we believe that the recovery process continues well beyond the completion of a recovery program. Statistics tell us that adequate aftercare is a necessity for ongoing sobriety and mental health. It is our desire to help our residents find support and accountability as they begin life after recovery. Most of our residents have given up relationships, resources, and securities to enter the program and have to start life over after graduation from our program. Without proper support and encouragement this can be an overwhelming and—oftentimes—an impossible expectation for the women and families we serve.

The transition from a recovery center to independent living is very important. While in recovery, the women have been equipped with the skills to live successfully on their own but need assistance to put those skills to use. We have developed an aftercare plan to meet the needs of our graduating clients and assist them in this important transition.

The aftercare plan outlines two levels of Aftercare. Level 1 is our Graduate Plan. This plan is offered to women who have successfully completed the H.E.A.R.T. Recovery program (a minimum stay of 18 months at Hope Family Center is required. Level 2 is our Associate Plan. This plan is offered to women who did not graduate but who—after a minimum of 12 months in the program—have left the program in good standing and wish to participate in the Aftercare plan.

In each level we offer a full five years of aftercare - including ongoing counseling, classes, case management, participation in outings and donated household supplies. It is our expectation that while participating in the Aftercare program, specific requirements will be met and maintained. These requirements include the following: maintaining sobriety, incorporating daily structure, utilizing tools, being med compliant, participating in healthy relationships, showing responsibility, attending ongoing program classes, and a continued effort in church attendance.

Family Center Volunteer Opportunities

We currently offer many volunteer opportunities at our Hope Family Center. We invite you to view these opportunities, by clicking here. To fill out a volunteer application, click here.

Click Here to view the
Hope Family Center Photo Album