Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality (H.O.P.E.) is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization who’s members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness.
H.O.P.E. wants to thank all of our members and allies for their hard work, phone calls,emails and letters which allowed H.O.P.E. to win a historic victory in THE ROAD HOME campaign.
We especially want to thank Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy for his tireless support.
This effort involved actively lobbying and advocating our local elected officials during the Shelby County Commission budget hearings and thanks to your efforts we won much needed funding at historic levels to provide housing and care to those least fortunate within our community.
Thanks to you…
1. H.O.P.E. won $250,000 of County funding for the Mayors’ Plan to End Homelessness. These funds will be used to provide early outreach and In home case management and wrap around services for 100 of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. These are individuals who are projected under current conditions to die within the next two years without housing and services. These funds will bridge the gap for these individuals moving into permanent supportive housing until their Medicare benefits are processed. This will aid the Community Alliance for the Homeless in reaching the goal of housing 100 unsheltered individuals by Christmas of 2012.
2. H.O.P.E. won a one time expenditure of $200,000 of capital improvement funds to convert blighted and MHA properties into permanent supportive housing. This will result in new units of permanent supportive housing for 25 homeless families with disabilities and 43 units of permanent affordable housing for low income families over the course of the next 36 months.
3. H.O.P.E. won $60,000 in operational funding in support of Judge Bill Anderson’s proposal of a Veteran’s Court within General Sessions Division 7. This Court will help veterans who suffer from the trauma or war to be diverted out of the Criminal justice system and into programs suited to address their needs with dignity beginning July 15th of 2012. As 20%-30% of those experiencing homelessness are veterans, this is a core issue of concern to H.O.P.E.
This victory and the previous victories from our May 1st day of action has allowed H.O.P.E. to grow into Memphis’ premiere organization representing the needs and concerns of people experiencing homelessness….and we are far from done.
UPCOMING ACTIONS
1. H.O.P.E is diligently investigating allegations of criminal wrong doing at two local homeless service providers at the request of our members. H.O.P.E. is getting a lot of reports from women experiencinghomelessness that employees at a local shelter are having inappropriate sexual conduct with female clients in exchange for shelter or “PLAY TO STAY” as it has been called. H.O.P.E. will be performing street outreach now and over the course of the next few weeks and months to reach out to unsheltered women to document these cases to pass on to the DA and Police to DEMAND a full investigation and prosecution of any and all offenders. If these allegations are true then H.O.P.E will not stop until that organization and all those involved with “PLAY TO STAY” are publicly and legally punished.
2. H.O.P.E. is also pursuing the creation of a Worker’s Co-op to facilitate part time income sources for it’s members. This venture, led by H.O.P.E. organizer, Paul Garner, would involve members of H.O.P.E. being trained in silk screen printing for the creation of t-shirts for organizations, church youth organizations, political campaigns and grassroots organizing groups. This service will be fully owned and operated by the members themselves.
H.O.P.E. is working to create an internal business plan and marketing strategy as well as fundraising to purchase equipment for start up with a goal of being open for business by early August.
If you have a background in business or are a business student who is interested in aiding our members in how to write a business plan,bylaws, and the basics of operating a business please contact Organizing Director, Brad Watkins at 901-725-4990 or by email at brad@midsouthpeace.org