Replacing barriers with bridges of hope

With the involvement of many compassionate volunteers, The Hope Center at Pullen affirms individuals whose circumstances lead them to feel excluded from opportunities for personal achievement. Volunteers and program participants walk alongside each other as friends. Through the construct of mentoring and one-on-one assistance, volunteers and program participants problem-solve challenges and celebrate progress toward personal goals and self-sufficiency.

Our goal is for program participants — men and women who are chronically homeless and other adults living on low-incomes — to ascertain and follow a path of personal development. Most are seeking employment.

Staff and volunteers have experienced first-hand the value of focusing on the individual, not just the circumstances and barriers that have come to define them. Mentors and participants alike in the Job Readiness Program, for example, have stated that the relationship building process is mutually transformative. A mentor reflected on his experience saying:

My Job Readiness partners have taught me in a visceral way what I knew intellectually — that it can be a short step from being in control of your life to being out of control. I have come to really admire them for their willingness to engage their circumstances, search out their own inner resources, and to continue to be hopeful.

Our mission statement: The Hope Center at Pullen — a faith community of hospitality, affirmation and justice — strives to remove barriers to opportunity through personal and community partnerships.