PRESS RELEASE: New Hope for Families celebrates 15 years of serving Bloomington community

In our community, no child will sleep outside. Not tonight. Not ever.

For 15 years, New Hope for Families has made that promise possible.

The staff and board of directors of New Hope invite the community to join them in celebrating 15 years of keeping local families together and helping them through the crisis of homelessness into lasting stability. 

15th Anniversary Celebration

The organization will commemorate its 15th anniversary with a special event on Sunday, September 20, 12:30–3:00 p.m. at Sycamore Farm in Bloomington. This free event will include food, face painting and games for families. The public is invited to attend, but guests must register in advance at www.newhopeforfamilies.org/rsvp no later than September 8.

When its doors opened in July 2011, New Hope became the only emergency shelter in Monroe County dedicated exclusively to families with children. Just weeks later, on August 16, the organization helped its first family move from homelessness into a home of their own.

Over the past 15 years, New Hope has grown from a small group of dedicated volunteers into a thriving community leader that’s sheltered more than 500 families. Today, New Hope is about much more than just a safe place to sleep. Each year, it serves more than 150 vulnerable families in our community through homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, early childhood care and education, and ongoing housing support. More than 80% of families move out of New Hope into stable housing—greater than two-and-a-half times the statewide average.

Board President Neil Powell emphasized, “One of the reasons I got involved at New Hope is their tremendous track record at helping people move all the way through homelessness into stability.”

The 15th anniversary celebration will honor the many volunteers, staff members, community partners, donors and families whose support has shaped New Hope's first 15 years. The community is invited to join this celebration and to help New Hope write its next chapter.

"Most communities don’t have a place like New Hope,” said New Hope Executive Director Emily Pike. “We do because 15 years ago, a small group of community leaders believed that Bloomington shouldn’t be a place where people had to separate from their families during one of the hardest times of their lives. The reason we still have New Hope and all that it’s grown into is that this community shared these values and embraced that mission. Our values say, ‘In our community, no child will sleep outside–not tonight, not ever.’”

About New Hope for Families

Founded in 2011, New Hope for Families leads the Bloomington community’s efforts to end family homelessness. New Hope is the only place in Monroe County where families experiencing homelessness can stay together while receiving emergency shelter and other supportive services. In addition to shelter, New Hope provides prevention and diversion services, long-term case management, and early childhood care and education aimed at helping children and their families move from crisis to lasting stability.

What began in a small single-family home, serving just three families at a time, has grown into a thriving social service agency that shelters up to 12 families each night and provides early childhood care and education for up to 60 children each day in top-quality custom-designed facilities. Learn more about New Hope and how to get involved by visiting www.newhopeforfamilies.org.