APRIL 2007 NEWSLETTER

32,000 Square Feet of Recovery
New facility to be named in honor of Dr. George Privett, Jr. 

By Cecil Dunn 

                The Hope Center took a big step forward last month.  On March 29, we broke ground on a new facility to house our Recovery Program for Men.  The 32,000 square foot building will have 99 beds and be located at 250 West Loudon Avenue, just east of our men's emergency shelter.
                The new building will be named in honor of Dr. George Privett, Jr., a long-time Hope Center board member and former chairman.  George and his wife, Nawanna, were the lead donors for the project with a gift of $300,000.  I can't say enough about what George's generosity has meant to the Hope Center over the years, and now he has stepped up in a major way to make this facility possible.
                Other major donors included loyal Hope Center supporters Bonnie Quantrell Jones, Don and Mira Ball, Doug Ezzell, Bill Rouse and Brian Wood, all of whom donated $100,000 to the cause.
                Vital support also came from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, which awarded the Hope Center a grant of $1,000,000.  Another $500,000 of support will come in the form of federal HOME funds that flow through the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.  Lexmark International donated the land for the project, a gift valued at more than $1,000,000. Barkham, Inc, a nonprofit contracting firm associated with the Ball family, will contribute services worth hundreds of thousands.  Lastly, Central Bank has been very generous in making financing arrangements.
                We began our Recovery Program for Men in 1996.  Since that time it has operated in a portion of our men's emergency shelter.  This new facility will be purpose-built for the program, thus putting our men's program facility on a par with the one for our women's program, opened in 2002.
                An extra benefit of the new building will be to relieve some of the space limitations at the shelter.  The shelter has 116 beds.  This past winter we averaged over 220 men sleeping there each night, many on mattresses spread up and down the hallways.  Moving the men's recovery program will open up a lot of room in the shelter.
                I have written before of the remarkable level of success our clients achieve in our recovery programs.  It's something for which we are very grateful.  We are also profoundly grateful to the many people who are now making it possible for us to build a new facility for our men's program.  As good as this program has been, it can only get even better with its own home.

Hope Center's 11th Annual Clover Classic 

                Despite the bone chilling cold weather, nearly 300 runners crossed the finish line on Saturday, March 17 at the Kentucky Horse Park.  It marked the Hope Center's 11th Annual Clover Classic 5K Walk/Run.  All proceeds from the race go toward the life changing programs that the Hope Center offers. This year's Clover Classic raised approximately $14,000.         

Thanks to the following for supporting Clover Classic 2007: 

Don Jacobs
Atkins Real Estate
Ken America Resources
McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland
Lexington Diagnostic Center and OPEN MRI
Elaine Feeney
G & G Electric
Energy Insurance Company
Jean Morgison
Guy-Ezzell Agency, Inc.
Pitch
Melaleuca
Dulworth, Breeding, and Karns
E.J. Bestoso
Hershey Enterprises, INC
Gem Source
BC Wood Companies
Cartown Kia USA
Johnny and Karen Morgison

Congratulations to the CLOVER CLASSIC WINNERS!
                Male                            Female
1st Michael May                1st Stephanie Meadows
2nd Kevin Albrighten         2nd Jill Hawse
3rd Mark Russell                3rd Allison Morman

For a full list of runners and times, please visit www.hopectr.org. 

Great volunteers, Great makeover

Thanks to Marriott Griffin Gate volunteers for making the Hope Center cafeteria sparkle!  On March 1-2, over 20 volunteers logged 152 hours of cleaning, painting, and redecorating our most-used space during the United Way Extreme Community Makeover.  These generous volunteers were able to make over a room that is used 24 hours a day as a cafeteria, classroom, bedroom, and gathering place.  They quickly primed and painted the walls and stripped and resealed the floors.  They also rounded up extra shelves, chairs, dry erase boards, paint and other supplies worth over $6,800! 

This achievement won them the "Best Use of Budget" award from United Way and much gratitude from Hope Center clients, staff, and directors!

Things We Need

Razors
White socks (no blacks)
Shaving cream
Small soaps
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Combs
Deodorant
Shower Shoes
Unused panties & bras
Sheets
Towels
Lotions
Shampoo
Motrin
Pepto Bismol   
Tylenol   
Milk of Magnesia   
Robitussin PM  (Alcohol free)   
ChlorTabs   
Aleve

2007 Hope Center Raffle
ENTER HERE TO WIN A 2007 VOLVO S80
Log on to:  www.winthevolvo.com
                · Any ticket purchased after 3pm May 10 will be available at Applebee's Park Will Call
                · On line ticket sales available till noon May 14 (pick up at Applebee's Park Will Call)

There passed this way ...

This is "Erin’s” story:
                I had a good home. My mom was a single mother that worked hard. I worked hard too. I did well in school and even went to college for a short time. I was about 23 when things went wrong. I had been dating my then boyfriend for 6 years already. He'd been dealing in drugs, but I never knew it until one day he offered me some cocaine.
                I tried it. I liked the way it made me feel. During this time, I worked a steady job as a community rehabilitation specialist in a mental health facility. I continued using, although it wasn't often, and lived a fairly steady life. The situation between my boyfriend and me started getting bad so we called it quits.
                It was when we got back together and were using again that I became absolutely hooked on this drug. He was clearly using my money and me for his selfish purposes and his addiction. Thankfully, I had enough sense to get rid of him, but only because I realized that I could get my drugs without him. I had my own contacts and was using my money anyway. I didn't need him anymore.
                Drugs make you do things that you never thought you would do. I can't believe that in order to get more money to quench my addiction I staged a robbery at a taxi stand where I worked. Of course, it didn't work. I was high at the time, and I couldn't have possibly thought things through enough to be successful.
                So I found myself with the police trying to explain a bad lie. Eventually, I gave up with the staged robbery and confessed. Needless to say, it only made what was bad worse.
                I was court ordered to come to the Hope Center. It is strict. SOS is probably the hardest. I warmed up to the way it ran when I saw that it worked. I was ready to come to the Hope Center, and it was a good thing. You have to want it because if you aren't willing then it won't work.
                This place changed me. It's a little scary to come here, but I've learned that it's much scarier out there with my old life. I have the skills to stay sober and to hold a job. This 180 can happen to anyone who wants it; the doors of the Hope Center are always open. 

For the Record

Services Provided For January  - March 2007
Meals Served    42,951
Nights Lodging    19,450
Clothing Issued    7,049      
Mobile Outreach    1,572
Volunteer Hours    2,324
Health Clinic Visits    937
Center Outreach    2,481
Mental Health Services    2,901
Detox Admissions    160
Recovery Admissions    41
Social Services    990
Housing & Employment    299
Hispanic Program    442
Women’s Program Recovery Admissions    16

Income
Individuals            $ 58,754
Grants                    583,975
Churches               6,148
Businesses            19,704
Total                       $668,581