Our event was graciously covered by the Lowell Sun:

City Woman Accepts “Courageous Mother” Award

It’s a Home Worth Fighting For

Thank you to the following sponsors for their outstanding support of the 25th Harvest of Hope Benefit:

New Home Sponsors:
ARAMARK
Boyle Transportation
Enterprise Bank
J.B.M. General Contractors, Inc.
Maureen & Arnold Lerner
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Jaqueline & Edward Moloney

Foundation Sponsors:
Deb Chausse
Nancy Donahue
Diane & Dave Earl
Louise Griffin
Heritage Properties
James L. Cooney Inurance-Real Estate
Kronos
George & Donna Leahey
William & Deborah Lemos
Lowell General Hospital
Omni Digital Printers
Pearson Financial Group
The Sun
Sykes the Florist
Thibault Foundation
Trinity EMS, Inc.
VIVA Consulting

We hope you can join us!

“…2010 started as a year they hoped to forget.”

‘Thanks for the kindness’

“…poems for those without homes.”

Read original article here.

There’s a sparkling house overlooking the Merrimack River in Pawtucketville that’s giving people have been dealt a bad hand in life a second chance.

House of Hope Executive Director Deb Chausse remarked yesterday that one year ago, passersby on Varnum Avenue would have never guessed that the then-dialpidated 100-year-old house was home to countless success stories. But she added that the house’s recent face lift reflects the progress that happens when homeless families turn to the home’s Hope to Opportunity program for help.

About 50 donors, state officials, social workers and program participants came together yeseterday to officially welcome the old house back to the neighborhood. Marc Teal, president of the House of Hopes Board of Directors, talked about the history of the home and said he “bet that the owners of this house 100 years ago would never have guessed that they’d be building a gateway to success.”

Hope to Opportunity Program Director Julie Lemire said that for more than a year the house has helped homeless families find the strength to return to school and re-enter the workforce. The house holds five families at a time. Lemire said most families spend about six months living there before they get back on their feet.

Two participants spoke yesterday about their experiences at the house. Marisol Mercedes and Jahaira Gonzalez both wound up at the house after hard times forced them into the streets. They both wound up enrolled at Lincoln Tech and worked to become medical assistants. Mercedes and Gonzalez now live on their own.

“When I first came here I thought that there was no way this was a shelter – it looked like somebody’s home,” Mercedes told attendees yesterday during an emotional speech. “Seven months later I was sad to leave – it was the best experience I’ve ever had.”