HOPE Shelters
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LEADERSHIP

HISTORY
DOCUMENTS
Brian Wright
​Executive Director
bwright@hopewarmingpontiac.org


Karen Plants
​Operations Director
kplants@hopewarmingpontiac.org

Adult Shelter

249 Baldwin Ave
Pontiac, MI 48342
​
P: 248-499-7345
​F: 248-499-7354
Carolyn Robiadek, Shelter Manager
crobiadek@hopewarmingpontiac.org

Recuperative Care Center

1416 Joslyn Ave.
Pontiac, MI 48340
​
P: 248-499-6437
F:248-499-6828
Kim Dabney, Shelter Manager
KDabney@hopewarmingpontiac.org

Operations & Quality

P: 248-481-4394
Rebecca Fitzgerald, Data Quality Coordinator
rfitzgerald@hopewarmingpontiac.org

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Chair
Dr. Jason Wasserman, PhD
​Vice Chair
Marlene Mullin, DNP, APRN, BC, 
Treasurer
Charlie Christ
Secretary
Sue Wood
​
Lindsey Calcatera
Bart Miles, PhD.
Mark Mullin, CPA
Chuck Dorantes


 

History

A Needs-Driven Organization

​HOPE was founded in 1998 as a community response to a homeless person freezing to death in downtown Pontiac, Michigan. The need for HOPE was great. In the mid-1990s, a long-standing shelter closed its doors and another shifted its focus to long-term addiction services.  This person had nowhere to turn. 

As the community came together to explore how they should respond.  Their collective wisdom led them to seek a way to protect the lives of people who needed to be sheltered from the cold even when they did not have ID or where not sober. 

In the beginning, HOPE operated a seasonal shelter during the coldest months of the year, turning away no one. At first, the rented shelter space inside the Baldwin Center was only available between Christmas and Easter seasons (January to April or March).  Guests were given a pillow, a blanket to lay on and another to cover themselves. The hard floor was not comfortable. 

Year after year, HOPE saw many of the same people came back to shelter through the coldest months. Something more needed to be done to help resolve the ongoing issues that kept people in need of shelter. Guests need an navigator to help them discover appropriate resources and to work the system through to an appropriate housing solution. HOPE would need a year-round space to address the needs of the people utilizing the shelter.  

In 2010, HOPE purchased a foreclosed building across the street- 249 Baldwin. With the help of more than half-a-million dollars of volunteer labor and in-kind donations, the space has been transformed into an effective resource for those experiencing homelessness. From 2011 to 2014, HOPE expanded services to cover the cold months of the year. By 2014, the shelter was prepared to operation year-round. 

In 2015, HOPE acquired the vacant lots adjacent to the shelter property. This lot will someday house a Family Shelter and Community Resource Center.

In 2016, HOPE opened the Recuperative Care Center – giving people experiencing homelessness a place to recover when discharged from an in-patient hospitalization. An Oakland University study concluded that the HOPE Recuperative Care Center saved local hospitals more than $160,000 in the first 2 months of operation. Local hospitals concur and continue to support the venture. 

Shelters in Michigan are compared to each other to assess effectiveness. HOPE engages guest more than twice the time of the state average, moves guests into appropriate housing at a rate 3 times the state average, and sees recidivism of less than one-third the state average. 
​
HOPE continues to respond to the needs of the community. Moving forward, HOPE sees the need to help families experiencing homelessness as a family unit, the need to help people keep their housing, the need to help make physical and mental healthcare more accessible, the need to make fresh foods more accessible, and the need to make community resources more accessible. HOPE is here to be supportive and collaborative. 

HOPE provides safe and judgment-free shelter, innovative programs, and public advocacy to end homelessness.

HOPE envisions a community where everyone has the opportunity to move from homelessness to safe housing, gain access to resources, and develop the skills to enhance their quality of life.

​SUMMARY
HOPE was founded in 1998 as a seasonal warming center in response to the death of an individual from hypothermia who was not able to access shelter because he had been drinking. HOPE began providing year-round low barrier shelter (no sobriety requirement, no background check. embedded services from partner agencies) in 2014 and then added a second shelter, HOPE Recuperative in 2015. This shelter is the "discharge to home" option from the hospital when an individual is homeless. In 2020, HOPE added a motel shelter for individuals experiencing COVID 19 who are homeless. 
 

Documents

Volunteer

Volunteer Packet- Adult Shelter
File Size: 66 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Volunteer Packet- Recuperative Care
File Size: 1016 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Volunteer & Intern Application
File Size: 63 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Volunteer & Intern Code of Conduct
File Size: 77 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement
File Size: 90 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

2016 Intern Packet
File Size: 228 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Organizational

2015 Annual Report Brochure
File Size: 1254 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Recuperative Brochure
File Size: 2012 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Adult Shelter Brochure 2019
File Size: 656 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

vigil_flyer_pdf.pdf
File Size: 97 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

hopelogo_higher_res.jpg
File Size: 250 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Homeless Awareness

Recuperative

HOPE RCC Admission Guidelines
File Size: 346 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Recuperative Information Flyer
File Size: 499 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Financials

Archived E-Newsletters

IRS Form 990 2015
File Size: 10199 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE Audit 2015
File Size: 5878 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE E-newletter July 2016
File Size: 251 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE E-Newsletter June 2016
File Size: 184 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE Audit 2014
File Size: 312 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE E-Newsletter Memorial Day 2016
File Size: 90 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

IRS Form 990- 2013
File Size: 851 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

HOPE Open House Thank You
File Size: 146 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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  • Home
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Contact Us
    • Leadership
    • History
  • Shelter
  • If You Need Help
  • How You Can Help
  • Advocacy
  • Stories Of Hope
  • Announcements