Binghamton Hope homes provide hope to struggling residents

JOHNSON CITY — For more than a year, the Binghamton Hope Foundation has helped make a difference in the lives of women in need by providing a free place for them to live while they recover from substance abuse or other issues. The foundation’s Women’s Hope Home, which opened a little over a year ago, has 13 beds available to women to stay as long as they need, says Leigh Stevens, the foundation’s executive director. “We don’t put a timeline or deadline on recovery,” she says. The residents come out of struggles including addiction, homelessness, sex trafficking, abuse, and other situations, she says. The home provides safe and stable housing so they can focus on recovery while their basic needs are met. Knowing that they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, and that the utilities will stay on allows residents to turn their focus away from survival and start looking at all the other parts of themselves they abandoned during their difficulties, Stevens says. Residents of the home must follow a schedule which includes a wake-up time and participate in running the home by preparing meals and keeping it clean. Some residents may leave during the day for various outpatient services. Within the home, educational program services are offered on topics such as recovery and healthy living. Opportunities to work on church projects are offered, as well as work-experience opportunities. Residents of the home traveled to Kentucky this year to work for a nonprofit associated with the world-famous Kentucky Derby horse race. What makes the house truly unique, Stevens says, is that each team member has some variety of lived experience, which allows them to really connect with the residents. “It’s more than just a home,” she notes. Residents are treated like family, even being invited to holiday dinners and receiving gifts. “Let’s really love on you so you can learn to love yourself,” she adds. Next up, the foundation will reopen its nearby men’s home in July after it completes renovations. Once open, that house will offer seven beds to men in need, following the same faith-based premise as the women’s house. “It’s just the start of what we want to do,” Stevens says. Right now, the foundation is working on mastering the model with the hope of opening more homes in the future. “We want to open more of a transitional home for our graduates,” she says. The home would serve people who have completed their program at the men’s or women’s house, but still need some support structure “until they’re ready to get out on their own 100 percent.” Stevens says she hopes to begin that process next year. Funding for the homes and all of the Binghamton Hope Foundation’s programs comes from a mix of local, state, and private grants; private donations; fundraising events, such as barbecues, pop-up shops, and concerts; and sponsorship opportunities. The foundation also has an ongoing wish list on Amazon that allows supporters to purchase and donate needed items. The Hope House programs are completely voluntary, Stevens notes. “It’s more a matter of are you willing to give this a try.”