More display help from our Hope Youth

Want more proof that we work with the best teens around? We have more display help from our Hope Youth. Our organization is planning several outreach events during the month of April. While we have a great display we need a few more posters to make everything pop.

Enter the kids that we work with on Saturday. Even though only one of our youth came we still had a great time. The posters that she created look great. 

Photos will be on our Facebook page later today. In the meantime, we just wanted to brag on our youth. 

Photos from the pancake dinner

 

Here are some photos from the pancake dinner on Tuesday night. We appreciate everyone who came out in the miserable weather to make our event a success!

There were many great positive comments about how our ministry is making a difference. Each of our board members said a few words or read testimonies about our services. This helped everyone understand the full scope of our involvement.

Raising funds to keep us online is important (that's why we have sponsored ads) but events like this one are also important tools for networking. There are some exciting things in the future!

Networking done on Facebook and at the dinner is helping to make a self-defense class happen. Word is spreading about our upcoming teleclasses to train clergy. People volunteered with us for the first time and are going to come back later. Many good things are coming together to help survivors of abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault.

Earlier this year we said that abuse survivors can make 2011 the best year yet. That's what we're seeing and living. Lots more events are on our calendar that will help raise awareness of sexual and domestic violence. More are being added today so keep watching.

Here are a few photos from the dinner that you can enjoy. Find out more about us on our Facebook page.

February 2011 work with at-risk youth in Restorative Justice

Today's work with at-risk youth in Restorative Justice was a little unusual. We almost always have a good group of kids and this Saturday was no exception. Their personalities were a diverse as they come. That's exactly why we enjoy working with them so much.

The girls dived right in and did a great job with the work at hand. We had over 400 brochures to fold and purple ribbons to pin. Lunch had to be fixed and set out. We also asked one of the girls to help tweak a PSA that was put together some time back.

Mixed in with all of this was a lively discussion. All of the girls indicated that they are familiar with domestic violence through friends and family members. One of them already has alarm bells ringing in her current dating relationship.

We have to tell you though. The more the kids come to us the more impressed we get. Even though the kids may come to us through Restorative Justice they each made the personal decision to get up, get dressed and come help.

Sometimes there are kids who don't follow through with their court-ordered assignments. They go to the next level in the system. Not our kids though. They come and are usually pretty cheerful about being here. In fact, for the second time we had a friend come with someone who was doing their community service. We were really impressed with that.

The next time you see our brochures and an outreach event or look at our display please take a good look. Our kids made it and probably folded it. While you are looking, feel free to be as proud of them as we are.

To our girls:
You can achieve your dreams. Never stop trying. We believe in you and hope that you do too.

~~ Many thanks to Pleasant Hill UMC for making our work possible.~~

Discussion on How Not to Date a Jerk (Jerkette) on 2/06/2011

Join us on Voices of Hope, Tuesday at 12:00 noon. We're going to be discussing the program and book called "How Not to Date a Jerk (or Jerkette).

It promises to be a great show and fits in perfectly with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. If you have a teen or know a teen you'll want to tune-in to the show. Then, come back 30 minutes after the show ends to download the free podcast to your MP3 player.

As always, calls will be taken live on the air during the 30 minute segment. We'll have the chat room up and running throughout the show and checking our email. If you have a question just let us know. We'll be glad to ask it on the air for you or you can call in.

The url is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/voicesofhope.

Womens Issues at About.Com reminds us that every year 1:4 adolescents reports being physically, verbally, emotionally or sexually abused. Come tune into "How Not to Date a Jerk or Jerkette". It may be one of the best things that you ever do.

Parents and teen drug use; there is help

Finding out that a teen is using drugs is one of the worst moments in the life of any parent. When teenage drug use comes home parents often feel lost and confused. They wonder where they went wrong or what they could possibly have done differently.

Drug problems exist in virtually every town and in every community. We have often run across drug problems in our work with at risk youth. Some parents found out about their child’s drug use after their child failed a drug test during pre-employment screening or court ordered test.

No parent wants to get this kind of news.  They often feel isolated and ashamed. What they don’t realize is that their teens often feel the same way. Of the youth that we work with no one has talked about enjoying drugs. The kids seem to use it as a way to fit in or as a way to escape.

A teen treatment program can help by getting at the root cause of the addiction. Many programs provide some support parents as well as the child. This helps the entire family become whole again.

If you even suspect that your youth is using drugs it’s time to get help. With teenager addiction help your child can be drug free and that’s news every parent can use. 

~~Many thanks to Newport Academy for sponsoring the work we do.~~

Working with At Risk Youth in Restorative Justice

We get to work with our Restorative Justice kids tomorrow. It's always good to see them coming. They are a  really big help when it comes to getting things done. Like always, there's a lot to do.

The kids are going to get to help us create an educational and awareness display about Hope for Healing.Org. A stack of brochures have to be folded and we're going to get some purple ribbon cards created.

Since Valentine's Day is coming up we have something special for the kids. The four girls who are scheduled will each get a small box of candy that you see in the photo. It's a small thing to do to let the girls know we care.

It's interesting to see what happens when the kids create displays. This gives us the opportunity to explain about the cycle. As they learn about domestic violence the light bulbs come on. You can see it on their faces. Unfortunately, this isn't always the happiest moment.

All too often the kids are familiar with domestic violence on a personal level. It is a rare exception when the kids haven't experienced domestic violence. Another troubling thing is that just about all the kids have friends who are already involved in dangerous relationships.

What we're seeing echoes information on the Love Is Respect Foundation website. This is the site for the National Teen Dating Violence helpline. There is also a live chat feature where kids can get help. Both kids and parents may want to check out the website.

What Volunteers did Saturday

Here are some of the things that were done on Saturday. This is a typical workday for us except that we had a few more hands than usual. We had a few kids with restorative justice. The goal of the projects is to teach the kids skills that they can use and to connect with the kids. Volunteers serve as one-day mentors. The projects are secondary to making a connection with the kids. It is the connections that help turn around the lives of the kids.

We made cards that will be given to shelters. A rug that is made from recycled plastic bags will eventually find its way to a shelter. When kids learn skills it builds their confidence. They then take the skills throughout their lives. After coming to us they can apply the knowledge toward making gifts for their friends, brightening their homes or maybe even start a small business someday.

The photos that you see were taken by a volunteer. The earrings on the purple cards were done during a previous session and will be sold. Items on white cards may be given to other programs or shelters. Enjoy!

Hope Youth Learn Skills Make a Difference

Volunteers make a difference here at Hope for Healing.Org. From our board members to online helpers we appreciate the help.

On Saturday, a member of Hope Youth met with 2 kids from the Restorative Justice program. Jewelry items were made that help us raise funds. (Photos are below.)

The kids get the benefit of new skills. It will be easier for them to make gifts for their friends. They can earn extra money by selling their wares at craft shows or online. Plus, it helps their self-esteem. We discussed where to purchase supplies, what kind of supplies are needed and how to catch sales. Hope Youth also were told about finding more information.

You should have seen the confidence change! The Hope Youth worked diligently. Each person was given a few beads to go home and practice with. Hopefully they'll show off their creations the next time they come. We can't wait to see what they do with their new skills!

Did I mention that the beads were made by volunteers too?

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Hope Youth 2009 Achievements on You Tube

In addition to our work online, local services are offered in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. Hope Youth are kids who come to us to do community service who stay on as volunteers or they are kids who want to make a difference in their community. Strawberry Plains, Tennessee is a rural area outside of Knoxville in Jefferson County. A slideshow is on the player on the right of the screen.



The kids who we work with in Strawberry Plains range from high functioning scholars at the top of their high school class to kids who can barely read. Some come to us from Appalachian type of settings with a poverty mindset. Others come to us from Knoxville with different cultural backgrounds.

Hope for Healing.Org is a Christian organization. We give out Bibles when requested and answer questions about Christianity. It is ever our goal to interfere with the cultural or religious background of the individual in Strawberry Plains or online. Our desire is to foster an atmosphere of understanding and mutual respect.

The kids seem to enjoy their time at Hope for Healing.Org and learn life-changing skills. We think that's pretty cool. How about you?

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Off to the Lincoln Memorial in DC

I am off to the Lincoln Memorial in DC with three of the greatest kids! We had a blast at the motel last night. So far, I've introduced two of them to Bojangle's and we are just having a great time. One of the kids has never been to Virginia. She's just loving the experience. I'll write more as I can. Right now we've stopped for gas. One of the kids is teaching another how to check tire air pressure. They're so fun.

Follow us at Twitter @gaylesglimpses

Getting Ready for the Lincoln Memorial this Weekend

We're gearing up to visit the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, November 14, 2009. There have been a few changes in who is going with us. Right now, it's scheduled that Allie, our summer youth coordinator will play a flute solo for the closing ceremonies for the FACSA Rally.

Yesterday we confirmed that another youth volunteer will be able to go with us. Some of you will remember meeting Charity at the United Methodist Men event Calling All Men.  She helped us set up our display and gave out information about Hope for Healing.Org. To say that she is excited is an understatement. Charity is passionate about speaking out against child sexual assault.

We're waiting to hear about 2 others who may go with us. Everyone is very excited and grateful to have this once in a lifetime opportunity.Our team is planning to post blog updates and photos of the day. Everyone can follow our director's Twitter account @gaylesglimpses for updates as we go along.

If you are in DC come see us a the Lincoln Memorial!

Save money. Decorate Your Home with Thrift Shop Finds

People used to ask "How did you do that?" when they walked into the Ministry Center and saw the items that the kids made. To share the information, I've started posting about some of the things we did. The following are a couple of the how-to articles that tells you how we recreated those thrift shop type of items into terrific looking pieces.

The sad thing is that we no longer have a place to meet with our kids. We're still looking but haven't found a place that's affordable. We did some amazing work with items that were donated. Many of these types of pieces can be found in your local thrift shop. The projects that we worked on paled in comparison to the impact made on the kids lives. Working with the Hope Youth was a really cool experience.

Many of the kids that we worked with are juvenile offenders. Most of these were also victims of domestic violence. By working on the projects it gave the kids a chance to interact positively with an adult while learning a skill. The result was pretty powerful.

I hope that you enjoy the articles about the thrift shop type of pieces. The red table in the photo went to a guy who was able to move up from being homeless into having a place of his own. A kitchen table that was recreated previously went to a mother and children. It was a good experience all around.

We're posting the instructions here so our online clients can learn about how to decorate a home using thrift shop finds. We know that some of you will be going from a domestic violence shelter to your own home. Recycling items that are either found or are picked up from a thrift shop can be a good way to make your home pretty while saving money.

You may have some tips and hints of your own to share. Feel free to leave those great suggestions in the comments section of this article.

We hope you enjoy the links:

Recycle a metal thrift shop type of table.
Recycle a Ladderback Chair.
How to Makeover a Kitchen Table.

Hope for Healing.Org Display at Calling All Men

Here are photos of our display that we set up at Calling All Men. Included (but not pictured) are items made by Hope Youth. These proved to be a hit! The chairs were especially well received. The first chair sold about 30 seconds after we took it into the event center.

Our kids should be proud of themselves! We sure are!

If you would like for us to display at your church or event let us know. We would be happy to come out to share more about what we do.




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About the Ministry Center

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People sometimes ask me what we do at the ministry center. The short answer is yes because that's the word we try to use most often. I can best explain by telling you about this past Saturday. This was a random busy day for us at Hope for Healing.Org.

It was the last day that the kids on the stimulus grant were working. One of these kids came to us in 2005 as a juvenile offender. This year he came as an employee. That's how much his life has been changed. The next two kids that are working for us both have learning issues. They all suffer from a lack of confidence but did very well with us.

You've already seen some of the furniture that they learned how to make. We do these things with the juvenile offenders that serve their community service with us. The parent of one of the kids that we worked with stopped by on Saturday. She wanted to let us know that her child was promoted to the next grade. According to her, we're responsible for encouraging her student to stay in school. That news made my day.

We worked out a trade with the homeless shelter in New Market. They came and got most of our knick-knacks. In return, they're bringing us more ladies clothing to give away. It was a good thing too. With school about to start clothing is on the minds of many.

After they left, our summer youth coordinator was able to pull some things together for an outreach event that's coming up. We'll be at Calling All Men in Sevierville on August 7 & 8. It's up to her to help get the display ready. She's doing a great job with it! It's basically the same display that we took to the Jesus in the Park event except with more information about us.

Later in the afternoon a woman stopped in with her kids. She's a former victim of domestic violence and is relearning how to live her life. The problem is that she has no dishes, clothing, pots or pans and is without a bedframe or other furniture pieces. That is, she was without until she came to us. Now she has clothes and a few dishes. Her kids have a couple of toys each. If we can find someone with a truck she'll have a couple of pieces of furniture.

After she left we started helping one of our stimulus kids. When she first came she said that she didn't paint. She also didn't seem to be very interested in learning. Somewhere along the way that changed. She is now painting a table to give to the daughter of her friend. It's a cute table. I am positive that the little girl is going to love it!

By this time it was 7pm. Gayle's husband called to remind her about dinner and coming home. It was time to pack up. Before that happened there was a little more work to do.

Just as Gayle and Allie were beginning to leave a guy in a pick-up truck stopped. He says he is living out of his car. The inside of the car looked the part. Problem is that the man has no food. Could we help him out with a box from our food pantry? Sure. Plus, we had a couple of bottles of water and some canned sodas. It wasn't much but he seemed grateful.

As we were leaving a lady was putting her newspapers in the dumpster. We thanked her for that. The newspaper and cardboard helps. We don't get much but it all adds up.

Also on Saturday we had some very generous donors stop by. Without them we would be lost. We do ask for a donation when people get items but that doesn't happen very often. We genuinely appreciate all of the support we get. Whether you are supporting us on the internet or dropping off at our ministry center we appreciate it.

When we're not busy at the center we're answering email, updating the blog, working on the website or trying to stay afloat financially. There's plenty to do. Volunteers are always welcome. I hope this answers about what we do. If not, leave a comment to let us know. We always like hearing from you at Hope for Healing.Org.

Here are some photos of the ministry center. The kids recreated the table and the other furniture pieces that you see. We're proud of them at Hope for Healing.Org!

They're Almost Gone!

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I can't believe that the kids working under the stimulus grant are almost gone. It seems like they just arrived yesterday. We are so proud of them! They've gained skills, formed friendships and have had their confidence soar! We're really lucky to have had them with us. Their last day is Saturday. If you get the chance please swing by and see what they've accomplished. They'd love it and we would too!

View photos of the terrific items that they've made here.

Recycled Items by Juvenile Offenders Help Recycle Lives

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We've had a number of requests for information about the recycled products made by the kids we work with. Many of these kids are victims of domestic violence and many of them come to us as juvenile offenders who are serving court-ordered community service.

When the kids come we work with them on the projects you see here. All the items were donated to our ministry center and recycled into the beautiful pieces you see here. When we do this, we get to talk to the kids about the ugliness in their lives and how they can get on a better track. The kids learn new skills. In fact, so many kids enjoy recycling these items that many wind up coming back as volunteers!

All items are available for sale at our ministry center. Proceeds from the recycled items help us pay rent and other expenses and go back into the program.

Fundraising Yard Sale Set for Sat. July 16

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It begins at 9:00 am - 2:00 pm rain or shine. Come to our ministry center at 3130 W Old Andrew Johnson Hwy. Help us raise funds to go toward rent and expenses. Everything in our center is going out at yard sale prices (exception is the program items created by Hope Youth).

We have clothing for men, women and kids. There are knick knacks, household items, kitchen tables, a bedroom set and more.

Come see what we have! You won't go away empty handed!

Have a Seat in This Chair

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The kids working under the stimulus grant have been having a blast. Today, they finished reconditioning this chair.

We have a two-fold goal with these items. On the one hand, the kids learn about recycling items. That's important. But learning the skill is just as important. By working on these projects they can create items to beautify their homes, give as gifts or to sell at craft shows. It improves their confidence and expands their worldview.

That's not too shabby for a day's work is it?

All program items that are made by the kids are for sale at Hope for Healing.Org. Come see us!

Check Out This Set of Legs

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The table in picture 1 was donated to us. It was weak. It was wobbly. It was not the pretty.

A little TLC from kids working under a stimulus grant changed all that. They tightened screws. They brushed the legs with wire brushes and then sanded them. Then, the kids sealed the legs with Rustoleum.




The top of the table needed some TLC. Most of the top was a light color.
There were some areas that appeared to be multi-colored. In a few spots the surface was showing its age.

The kids went to work sanding, wiping and sanding some more. Then they applied a few fresh coats of Rustoleum enamel paint. When they finally finished they had a masterpiece on their hands.





Wouldn't it look great in your home or business?

Students Make Beaded Jewelry At Local Nonprofit

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Students learned to make beaded jewelry today at Hope for Healing.Org. These kids are being put to work with stimulus money. Today, we learned how to make beaded earrings, bracelets and necklaces. We talked about product development and production.

With the skills of beaded jewelry the kids now can make items for family, friends or to sell for extra pocket money. The sale of the merchandise will benefit Hope for Healing.org.

It's been a busy few days. Other skills learned so far have included weaving chair bottom, sanding wood furniture in preparation for repainting, jewelry making and how to rip material. The material will be used to create beautiful braided rugs. One is already started. When our director returns from her trip we'll add the finishing touches.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the kids at work making beaded jewelry and sample shots of finished products.