Three years ago, Community of Hope opened our first in-house pharmacy — making it easier for patients to get the medications they need without additional barriers. Since then, the pharmacy has become a trusted part of care, offering convenience, savings, and a team that treats every patient with individualized support. 

This month Community of Hope recognized our 45 year anniversary! Forty-five years ago, on September 12, 1980, Community of Hope was signed into existence. What began with a single housing site and a small health clinic at 1417 Belmont Street in Columbia Heights has grown into a support system for thousands of families across Washington, DC. 

For years, Ms. Gwen prayed for something many of us might take for granted — a full smile. While she had a partial smile with her top teeth, she couldn’t complete it with bottom teeth because dentures were far too expensive.

For Charles, a proud Ward 8 native, living with high blood pressure once felt overwhelming. “My blood pressure was through the roof,” he recalls. “I was eating okay but not like I should. I wasn’t managing things the way I needed to.

For 18-year-old Tabatha Gore, this August marks a moment she’s worked toward for years: she’s starting her first semester at North Carolina A&T State University. She’s a first-generation college student with  a scholarship from the Pearl and Ivy Foundation (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, DC Chapter). But behind her accomplishment is a powerful story of caring for her mom, her personal determination, and the support of Community of Hope. 

When you meet Jalisa Settles, her warmth and determination shine through instantly. She speaks with the strength of someone who has overcome challenges and is now building a healthier future for her family with the help of Community of Hope’s WIC program. 

For over 13 years, Darene has called the Bellevue community ”home.” Just a short walk away she found a place that would become her emotional anchor: the Bellevue Family Success Center at Community of Hope. Here she found a support system that carried her through some of life’s toughest chapters. 

Before anything else, April will tell you this about her home: “It’s my safe space."    Today, she and her 14-year-old son have a peaceful home of their own — a quiet place to rest, recharge, and prepare for what’s next. For her son, it’s a solid place to grow and get ready for high school. For April, it’s the foundation that allowed her to grow and focus on new goals. 

At 67 years old, Tonie Sanders is enjoying the rhythm of retirement and again learning what it means to lead with a smile. Tonie has proudly lived in the District all his life — just a block and a half from Community of Hope, where he has received health care for the past five years. 

When Tarkeina thinks back to her early days of motherhood, one word comes to mind: disconnected. Before she ever set foot in Community of Hope, she was navigating the complex world of health care and breastfeeding with uncertainty and without the guidance she wanted. "I felt disconnected.” As a new mother and a Black woman, she didn’t feel fully supported in her health or her breastfeeding journey. That sense of isolation shifted when her mother, Tarkeina Thorne a patient at Community of Hope, introduced her to the care and community she had been missing.