Hope Center assistance programs in Waukesha County.
Whether it is transportation from the Hope Center Financial Assistance Program, or Outreach Meals, the charity will try to assist. They provide support across Waukesha County. They operate a Day Center as well with nurses that drop in to provide health care. This is for struggling families to stop in at for help, and there are also meals served to the homeless and other support services arranged.
Hope Center's Outreach Meals has been providing free food in the form of hot meals to those in need. The program has been running since the early 1990s as has served thousands of individuals since then. The Outreach Service helps people save money that can be used for paying for other needs and bills.
Food is served with partners. Men, children and women can be assisted in the form of a hot, nutritious meal. Hope Center works with St. Vincent de Paul, local restaurants, the Food Pantry of Waukesha County, the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), area congregations, churches and members of the community. These group serve meals and also also offer invaluable social interaction for many of the diners.
The program relies on money too, and it is largely funded by the Waukesha County Community Development Block Grant. The Hope Center Meals Program feeds families trying to stretch their budgets, the homeless, residents of rooming houses or shelters, and seniors with fixed incomes, and the disabled. Many clients are also physically and/or mentally impaired. Meals are served at Hope Center each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30 pm.
The Meals Program also works with the local Salvation Army to serve one meal per day, as well as Loaves and Fishes for Sunday food serice. Over the years, tens of thousands of dollars of food was donated to the program.
Another service that is operating in conjunction with the Outreach Meal Program, the Hope Center Day Center was established to provide support to the vulnerable as well as a daytime destination for the homeless. The location is also a daytime destination for those who would otherwise be alone and that need emergency help.
Demand for the assistance programs run, as well as the resources needed to run it, are in close competition with those for the Outreach Meal Program. Some of the services overlap as well, as the Day Center serves a hearty breakfast, passes out snacks, and a hot lunch at noon each day. Other assistance includes medical services, casual entertainment in the form of movies, books and television; job search assistance; and recreational as well as social programming. Day Center hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, with extended hours to include the weekends during the Waukesha County winter months.
The Green Power Garden is what offers fresh food to clients. The program provides a valuable benefit for Hope Center guests of all income levels. It allows the charity to add fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy to the Day Center and Meal Program menus.
Hope Center operates a garden, which is cultivated from spring into the fall. It has served thousands of pounds of perishable food. If there is extra grown each year, then the harvest surplus is shared with the Food Pantry of Waukesha. The garden program also presents a great opportunity to both gain some basic work skills and volunteer. There are school, church, boy scout, and civic groups coming out to assist with the tending, planting and harvesting of the crops.
The Hope Center Financial Assistance Program relies on donations from Hebron House of Hospitality, Interfaith Senior Programs, St. Vincent de Paul, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Waukesha Community Development Board, churches as well as various private foundations, and a multitude of individuals. The grants provided have helped thousands of people faced with financial crises avoid homelessness or disconnection of their power. The main uses of the money from the center are as follows.
Financial help from the charity covers expenses that may include work-related transportation. Any type of financial assistance from the non-profit organization is available once-per-year, per applicant, and income guidelines must be met to benefit.
Hope Center has a program called Project Move. This is a facility to inventory and deliver donated merchandise, such as beds or cribs, to help those who are relocating from shelters or family residences. The goods can help them take the next step toward independence and self-reliance.
This can be combined with money to pay a security deposit on a home in Waukesha County. After all overcoming homelessness is not always about putting a roof over one’s head. It combined financial aid with giving someone a bed in place of an air mattress, money to pay for permanent housing, a refrigerator, and more.
Medical care is provided by the Outreach Nurse Program. The service began as a collaboration with Pro Health Care and local hospitals. It was started through the Community Benefits Programs, with the aim of providing access to the health care services of a registered nurse at the Day Center. Available services include responding to general medical questions; blood pressure checks; physicals and assessing and meeting the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of clients, as appropriate.
A clothing shop was created in order to help guests save more money for housing, rent and other bills. The center has furnished thousands of people living in poverty as well as low to low-middle-income guests with free, high-quality clothing donated through the generosity of local individuals, companies and supporting congregations. This is but one of the many options available in the state as well as community, as other free clothing distribution centers can also assist the needy.
Volunteers work at the center. They are involved in helping guests select clothing for everyday wear, for school use and for career-oriented needs. There may be winter coats, pants for work, dresses, boots, and more. Clothing Shop hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with limited hours on Wednesday.
The center is located at 502 N East Ave, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186. Call (262) 549-8726 for information on services.
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