House of Hope Receives Three Community Impact Grants from Martin County United Way

House of Hope is the recipient of three generous Community Impact grants from the United Way of Martin County for 2023-2024. The grant awards, totaling $110,750, will help to sustain House of Hope programs that are vital in empowering Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship.

The grants specifically support House of Hope’s Client Choice Pantries, Project HOPE (Helping Others Progress through Empowerment), and the House of Hope Centers for Enrichment. The United Way has been supporting the House of Hope mission to empower Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship for more than three decades.

“House of Hope has always been at the heart of meeting community needs for basics like food and household goods,” said Rob Ranieri, CEO of House of Hope. “We’ve become very innovative in how we produce and distribute fresh food, educate our clients, and help them make connections to break their cycle of poverty. United Way’s investment in our organization will enable us to continue performing our vital work and strengthen Martin County.”

House of Hope operates four Client Choice Pantries throughout Martin County--in Indiantown, Hobe Sound, Stuart, and Jensen Beach--where people can receive food assistance. Last year alone, the pantries provided 1,488,150 pounds of food to its clients and 35 nonprofit food bank partners who operate soup kitchens, shelters, smaller church pantries and youth programs throughout Martin County. Food distributions also include some of the 900 meals prepared each week by the agency's Elisabeth Lahti Nutrition Center. Thanks to House of Hope’s Growing Hope Farm, clients have fresh, high quality produce as part of their food choices in addition to donated non-perishable items. As part of its overall health and nutrition initiative, House of Hope also uses this grant funding to support its nutrition education programs and nutrition gardens.

Project HOPE seeks to move individuals and families past a crisis situation, stabilize the household, and work with clients to develop a plan toward economic self-sufficiency. Every client that enters House of Hope meets with a team member to start the process of making a plan for recovery. Project HOPE support includes financial assistance to help clients pay critical household bills and even access to a clothes closet if needed. Each month the team makes more than 1,200 referrals to connect clients to programs and services provided by a vast partner network within the community, including the agency's array of enrichment programs.

The Centers for Enrichment are hubs of activity in Stuart and Jensen Beach. A third center, known as the KinDoo Center in Indiantown, joins the House of Hope family of services this summer. The Centers offer a variety of classes and programs focused on the fields of health and nutrition, education, job skills and job training, the arts, and family-friendly social opportunities. Some of the available classes and programs include English as a Second Language, computer instruction, career coaching, smoking cessation, early learning, homework helpers, and diabetes education sessions. In just one year, the Centers served 863 clients with a total of 3,393 services.

All programs and services of House of Hope are provided at no cost to the individuals and families served by the organization.

“Our community continues to feel economic stress and food insecurity,” Ranieri says. “Every month we reach a new milestone in the number of people we serve, the meals we provide, and the financial assistance we distribute. That’s why we’re proud to partner with United Way of Martin County to provide opportunities for success to individuals and families in our community."

About House of Hope

Founded in 1984, House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship. House of Hope touches the lives of more than 21,000 people each month, helping with basic needs such as food, clothing, furniture, financial assistance, as well as longer-term case management services that help build life skills for a more self-sufficient future. 

The organization has service centers in Stuart, Hobe Sound, Indiantown, and Jensen Beach, with thrift stores in Stuart, Hobe Sound, and Indiantown. House of Hope’s Centers for Enrichment at Golden Gate in Stuart and in Jensen Beach offer free programs, technology, and workshops designed to enhance life skills, earning potential, health, and overall well-being. A third center, the KinDoo Center in Indiantown, joins the House of Hope family of services in the summer of 2023.

House of Hope also operates the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and several nutrition gardens that provide sustainable sources of fresh produce for clients as well as nutrition education and vocational opportunities to the community. For more information, visit hohmartin.org or call 772-286-4673. Updates and announcements can also be found on Facebook, Instagram Instagram, and Twitter.