University Carillon United Methodist Church donates proceeds of CD to Hope Helps, Inc.

3 Nails CD Cover

On Friday September 21, 2012, University Carillon United Methodist Church (UCUMC) held a promotion concert to launch its CD “3 Nails”.  The event was well attended and donations were collected to cover the cost of producing the CD. The Worship Ministry unanimously voted to donate any proceeds earned from the CD to Hope Helps, Inc.  Last month, UCUMC Worship Ministry donated $1000 to HOPE.

The CD was the vision of Mike Conrad, former worship Leader at UCUMC.  The music chosen was an assortment of Christian music performed by their Praise Team and Voices of Carillon choir which are played during their regular worship services.  With the exception of 3 staff members, all musicians on the CD are volunteers who have amazing talents and put in many hours preparation each week to provide a solid and memorable worship every service.

Worship Service at University Carillon United Methodist Church

The CD took 1 year to complete and it contains beautiful traditional and contemporary worship music that is usually performed at the church.  You can listen to some of the songs here.  CDs are still available for purchase for $10 at the church or you can buy online via ITunes here. Any additional proceeds received will continue to go to HOPE.

“Helping HOPE has been a mission I have felt very strongly about since its inception, and I am so glad we were able to give something back to HOPE to help our local families in crisis,” said Carrie Christensen, the Worship Assistant at UCUMC. 

We want to whole-heartedly thank everyone at University Carillon UMC who was involved in the making of this “3 Nails” CD and who have contributed to its success, as well as everyone who has shown their support by donating or purchasing CDs. HOPE Helps, Inc. sincerely appreciates the donation and we continue to work towards putting every single dollar to good use by helping those in need in our community.

The Mobile Medical Unit at HOPE Helps, Inc.

The Mobile Medical Unit of the Health Care Center for the Homeless visits HOPE Helps, Inc. once a month and provides medical care for the uninsured. This unit currently provides the only FREE medical care in Oviedo, collaborating with HOPE Helps, Inc. in scheduling appointments.

The HOPE Mobile Medical Unit provides primary medical care services, including treatment of chronic conditions. They have been visiting HOPE Helps, Inc. for the past three years. From 2012 until now, they have treated more than 240 patients. The doctors and nurses of the Unit currently treat a maximum of 15 patients per visit. Many of these patients have chronic illnesses and come to the clinic each month for regular checkups. The team does not dispense medication on site, but sends prescriptions directly to Walmart, Oviedo to be filled, so that patients do not incur costs to visit the Health Center on Orange Blossom Trail in person.

Carmen and her family have been coming to HOPE Helps, Inc. for the past year, and she is currently a patient of the Mobile Medical Unit. She has a thyroid condition and ovarian cysts and the doctors have given her regular checkups, prescribed medication and referred her to the Health Center for follow-ups. Unfortunately, she recently had to go to the Emergency Room because she was in so much pain. She was given a shot of morphine and sent home; her hospital bills keep adding up because she cannot afford to pay them. “For me, this Mobile Medical Unit service has been excellent, it is a lot of help,” says Carmen, “They have helped me tremendously!” Now, Carmen needs to see a specialist for services which are not currently offered by the Mobile Medical Unit. At HOPE Helps, Inc., we are trying to find her a specialist who will donate their services, or provide them at a reduced cost.

We truly appreciate the Mobile Medical Unit and the HealthCenter for the Homeless, and the amazing work they do. “Their services are a gift,” declares Christine Wright, the Resource Coordinator at HOPE Helps, Inc.

If you do not have health insurance and you are interested in being treated by the HOPE Mobile Medical Unit, please call the HOPE Resource Center at 321-765-4984 to make an appointment.

HOPE Helps, Inc is Featured!

HOPE Helps' Church Coalition is comprised of over 20 churches of all denominations working towards one goal, to prevent and reduce homelessness in their community. This video was created by St Luke's Lutheran Church. It features our Kids of HOPE program. Thank you St. Luke's, for all that you do for those in need! 

http://vimeo.com/sllcs/centennial-gift

Keeping it Cool in Hard Times

HOPE Helps, Inc. has 16 employees who keep the Thrift Store, Food Pantry and Administrative offices up and running! Each employee has their own interactions with HOPE clients. These experiences are often what fuel their motivation to relentlessly pursue HOPE's mission of helping individuals and families in crisis. The following is an example of one of those interactions. 

I spend most of my time at HOPE working with on the computer systems that keep HOPE running (and unclogging the occasional toilet), so I don’t have much interaction with the people who are the real reason for HOPE’s existence:  The individuals and families who turn to us for help in a time of crisis. However, over the last several months, I've been delivering food to one of these individuals as part of Hope’s HENS (Hope Emergency Network Support) program.  A volunteer effort to provide food and home repair services to Hope’s clientele.

I first met Lisa when I started delivering a weekly food package to her and her family in Chuluota.  My original intent was to just be a temporary ‘fill-in’ driver until we could find a volunteer who lived in that area to take on the ‘chore’.  Well, ‘temporary’ is a flexible term here at HOPE.

It didn’t take too many visits before I wasn’t looking at the deliveries as a chore, but instead an opportunity to be a friend and to bring some joy into the lives of this sweet lady and her family.  They live in the older part of Chuluota, and are without transportation.  Their house is run-down, but the yard is neatly kept.  I really don’t know much about how they came to be in their present situation, but that’s not what this is about.  The first thing that struck me about Lisa is that, even in her situation, she is always thankful for what she has, and even tries to help out her neighbors who are facing more difficult circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago, Lisa’s refrigerator died, forcing her to rely on a neighbor to store their perishable food and her insulin (yes, Lisa is diabetic).  When I found out about this, I was moved to try to find a replacement.  I didn’t say anything to Lisa, as I didn’t want her to get her hopes up.  As it turned out, one of the HOPE staff members had an old refrigerator in their garage, so we made arrangements to pick it up and deliver it to Lisa’s home.

When we got to her house, no one was at home, but a neighbor called Lisa and told her, “Come home right now!”  About 10 minutes later, she came pedaling her bicycle up the street.  As she saw us waiting by her front door, you could see her face light up as she started pedaling faster.  She was so excited!  The day before was her birthday, and I had sent her a note saying I would be bringing a ‘little birthday treat’.  The refrigerator was probably the best present she could have hoped for, and gave me the opportunity to be on the ‘front-lines’ in HOPE’s service to the community.

Just seeing the joy in Lisa’s face at this unexpected gift really brought home to me what HOPE is all about:  Being able to brighten someone’s day by the help and love we can provide when they are in need.

-Bill

A Determined Client Receives Life Changing Help From HOPE!

A client came in for an intake two weeks ago. This client was recently out of jail and was newly homeless. The client was living on couches, in hospital waiting room, in the woods, and bouncing from shelter to shelter. He came in seeking any type of assistance that our organization could provide and was very determined to turn his current situation into a positive one. 

After meeting with him I could determine that he needed some immediate items that we were able to offer him. Through the organization I was able to provide him with clothing (shirts, shorts, shoes, and socks), sign him up for the pantry, provide him with toiletry type items (lip balm and lotion), give him bus passes, a travel bag to store his items, and help provide funding for him to stay at one consistent shelter rather than jumping from shelter to shelter. He was asking for very little and was very grateful for whatever we were able to offer him. 

This client is one of the most determined people I have worked with. He shares the common goal that this organization has in creating a life of self-sufficiency. For the two weeks that I have known this client he has constantly stated that he has goals and wants to achieve those goals and return to a normal life and not be reliant on any social service agency. The client recently contacted me with the positive news that he is newly employed and receiving full-time hours. He is working during the day and staying at a shelter at night. We continue to talk about how this current situation will change and he will eventually move out of the shelter and move into a place of his own. 

From first meeting this client with virtually nothing to his name to his and looking at him now newly employed, the future is bright and this success story will continue to grow. Through the help of the resource center this client was able to receive the necessary items to help keep him encouraged and make sure there weren’t any road blocks disallowing him to accomplish his goal of self-sufficiency.


–Jimmy H.
Resource Intern