Let me begin by thanking you for your prayer, contributions, and service to support the ministry of Hope House. We’ve had many staffing changes recently that I’d like to share with you. When we began construction of the first six of our 14 total apartment units in the summer, we began staff reorganization to prepare for the launch of our affordable housing program. As I evaluated our needs I quickly realized that our existing staff was positioned perfectly to assist with this reorganization. The following is a detailed explanation of the nine position changes and additions to help guide our future growth:

Chief Program Officer:
Justin Crowe has served Hope House for nearly nine and a half years as Program Living Coordinator and recently as our Senior Director of Program Living. The first decision I made in our staff reorganization was to promote Justin Crowe as our Chief Program Officer. This role is strategic in helping us carry out our reorganization and bringing strength to the programs we offer at Hope House. Justin will provide the necessary leadership for our programs that are growing rapidly. Justin will help to best position the organization for a large amount of growth over the next five to ten years.

Program Living Director for Men:
Second, we have promoted Jonathan Gilliard as our Program Living for Men Director where he will lead our long term recovery program. Jonathan has been with the organization for five years, serving as our Program Living for Men Coordinator. Jonathan's story of redemption is one that has impacted my life and many others since we met him nearly seven years ago! We are so thankful for the work the Lord has done in Jonathan's life to equip him for this role.

Program Living Coordinator for Men:
To fill Jonathan's vacant position, we have hired a new Program Living for Men Coordinator, James Carr. James moved to Bowling Green to attend WKU and he will graduate in Spring of 2025. We are excited to have James join our team. James has been faithfully serving our city for a few years now. He is excited to join our team and begin this new endeavor, as the Lord has given him a huge heart for non profit ministry.

Housing and Community Life Director:
When we set out to launch our affordable housing program, we knew this would not simply be a place where people live. This would be a place where people can heal, commune, grow and be empowered to live again in healthy relationships. This housing program will be a two year program including case management and supportive services. Through research and discussion, we knew we needed to hire a Housing and Community Life Director.

We did not have to go far to find that person because God had already put that person on our team over five years ago. Mareika Tisdale, our Human Resource Director, has been faithfully serving Hope House in many different ways. We are excited to announce that Mareika has moved into this new position to guide our affordable housing program. Mareika has previously worked in apartment property management for many years. She is very excited to take her property management skills and marry them with her deep love for Jesus and Hope House to begin walking with our future residents and their families.

Maintenance Coordinator:
Hope House has grown from one building to operating six properties, with plans to quadruple that number once we have completed our capital campaign of $5.5 million dollars. We want to steward what the Lord has given to us through so many people’s generosity, and an important part of that stewardship is regular maintenance.

We are excited to share that Lee Hatcher, retired fireman for the BGFD, has joined our team to serve in this role. Lee brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to help us develop and maintain this growing need within the organization. Lee will help us triage maintenance needs and work with our staff and volunteer groups to facilitate these projects.

Financial Administrator:
For ten years, Kassie Smith has served on our team at Hope House in many different capacities. She started as a volunteer, then Affordable Christmas Coordinator, then Communications Coordinator, and most recently as our Financial Administrator. She has been a vital part of the growth and development at Hope House. Kassie made the decision to step down and join her husband in his growing business. It was bittersweet to see her go, but we are so grateful for all she gave to our organization to help us get where we are today.

Before her departure, we hired Jason Colson. Jason came to us as a volunteer in our Jobs for Life program. During our time with him, it became clear that God was positioning him to join our team as our Financial Administrator. Jason comes with a wealth of knowledge from being a small business owner for many years and retiring as the Chief of the BGFD. We look forward to seeing how Jason will help us grow our financial and accounting department as we step into our next chapter as an organization. Jason is excited for this new season of serving with us at Hope House!

Office and Program Assistant:
To provide support to Hope House’s daily operations, we needed someone to fill the role of Office and Program Assistant. Aaron Whitlow, who has served on our team for several years, was a perfect fit for this position. Aaron has seamlessly shifted into this new position to provide care for people who come to our office looking for help, to teach and empower our volunteers to serve in development classes, and to help care for the daily needs around Hope House.

Community Empowerment Coordinator:
We recently reopened this position with a new job description. This person will serve as our volunteer coordinator, help us connect with our neighbors in deeper ways, and assist our class graduates with accomplishing their goals.

Community Store Manager:
Our Community Store is a major anchor to the West End Bowling Green neighborhood. Through your generosity, the store provides a place for neighbors to be empowered to provide for their family’s clothing and household needs, and serves as an introduction to Hope House’s programs. Since 2020, the store location at 485 Glen Lily Road has provided us an entryway to meet families who live in the neighborhood.

Due to a staffing shortage, a little over a month ago we had to close our store to shoppers. Though this was a difficult decision, I knew it was necessary to give our staff and volunteers the time needed to regroup. We continued to take donations Tuesday through Saturday while searching for the right leader to serve as our Community Store Manager. Three weeks ago, we opened on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 2 PM for shopping. We are so grateful to everyone who has continued to donate, shop, and volunteer these last three weeks.

It is with GREAT EXCITEMENT that I can announce we have hired a new store manager who has over 29 years of customer service and retail experience! Judy Burnam started this week as our Community Store Manager. She has caught a big vision for our Community Store, and we can't wait for her to get started! As she begins her training, we will continue to take donations Tuesday through Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM and be open for shoppers on Tuesday and Thursday from 9 AM to 2 PM. One of the first things she will be doing is getting to know her team of staff and volunteers, then working strategically to get the store open more consistently. There is more to come on this, but for now we are so thankful that the Lord brought Judy to our team.

In Summary:
This is a lot of information, but I felt it necessary to share with you how the Lord has been using your prayer, support and service to get us to where we are today. I am so thankful for each of you. We would not be where we are without YOU! I am grateful for the countless hours and financial sacrifice that have been given and continue to be given to help us alleviate physical and spiritual poverty through gospel restoration. I could not be more excited about the future. God is doing great things, and he continues to invite us to be a part of his plan. We get a front row seat to witness him bring the dead to life, give the blind eyes to see, and give ears to hear the good news of Jesus Christ!

Whether you have supported Hope House for one month or 15 years, I would love to continue a conversation with you if you have questions. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at 270-904-1200 ext 100 or by email at bryan@hopehousebg.com. I would love to personally invite you to Hope House for a tour and conversation to show you the impact you have made!

Sincerely,