Stories of Hope

Stephanie Marrone leads our Play Night at Hope.  As a committed volunteer, she organizes creative crafts and hands-on projects for the children at Hope Apartments to explore each Tuesday night in the playroom. Stephanie gets an “energy boost” by playing with the children at Hope. She and the other Play Night volunteers have become a family and look forward to spending quality time together each week.

Charla Everhart Lum, Vice President of Talent Management, recently stepped back from her position after ten years at Community of Hope.  Charla provided leadership in all aspects of staff development as we grew from a staff of about 40 people at two locations in 2006, to about 200 people at seven locations in 2017. We are so grateful to Charla for her vision and leadership, and for ensuring a smooth transition by developing an internal leader to fill her position.  We are pleased to share these reflections from Charla about her journey at Community of Hope:

From the challenges of domestic violence and single parenting, Sherrelle is rising. Surrounded by her new-found 'sisters' from her CenteringPregnancy® group and with her Healthy Start team, she is discovered she and her baby are not alone.

After years of struggling to gain control of her diabetes, Vanessa Finch is now using our partnership with Capital Bikeshare to stay active! By gaining support from Community of Hope’s Diabetes Care Team, Vanessa feels empowered to make healthier choices and maintain a more active lifestyle.

After years of struggling with stable housing, Tamika Garris has returned to DC General Family Shelter as an employee! She is back to spread the hope she received at Community of Hope and to set an example of overcoming homelessness to other families at the shelter.

Giving back is second nature for Dani. She grew up in a household that fostered children, she owns a tutoring company for kids, and in 2016 she became a Community of Hope mentor! Dani mentors nine-year-old LaGeorgia, whose family has remained stably housed since 2012.

The Air and Space Museum – check. A Wizard’s game – check. Laser Tag – check. The list goes on and on for the countless adventures Adam and his mentee Cy’los have experienced together. But it is the small moments that Adam values the most with his mentee.

Do you look forward to your commute to work in the morning? Geoffrey Jackson does. After a year of unemployment, this single father, who is raising four kids, looks forward to his trip to work. “Having a commute means I have a job!” When Geoffrey lost his job late last year, it was the first time he had been unemployed since getting connected to Community of Hope in 2009. 

Mustafa Humphreys considers himself a professional diaper changer and a baby bottle master, thanks to Community of Hope’s Healthy Start home visiting program. New parents, Mustafa and Ayona Dennis, learned about our Healthy Start home visiting program while participating in Community of Hope’s CenteringPregnancy® group.

“You have to leave!” Those words meant the end of “home” for Nikki. She and her two young children had been living at her mother’s home in Washington, DC until one day in early 2016. Nikki had just a week to figure out where she was going to live. Growing up, Nikki was in and out of shelters – all too familiar with the negative effects it could have on her children.