This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Help HOPE provide respite/convalescent care to people experiencing homelessness in Longmont. This program helps the homeless who are either too sick for a shelter or have been recently discharged and need a safe place to heal. With your help, we hope to raise enough money to help 45 people in medical crisis! This program isn’t just about short-term recovery, it’s a bridge that supports people on the path to self-sufficiency. For example, one of our clients, Terrance, works full time at a furniture store here in Longmont. It's not glamorous, but he works hard and the owners appreciate him for it. In fact, they didn’t even know he was experiencing homelessness until he needed a double hernia operation and had no place to recover. HOPE stepped in and provided a week of emergency medical respite and worked with him to stabilize his living situation. He is now in transitional housing and on his way to self-sufficiency. Help us help more people in our community just like Terrance!
About HOPE and why we provide respite care.
Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) meets people where they are. Every night of the year, we provide crisis response and basic needs support for people experiencing, and at-risk of, homelessness in Longmont. We engage with clients from a standpoint of compassion and dignity and build trust within the community. Because we go directly to those in need, HOPE is often the first point of contact for people living on the margin, and supports those who are falling through the cracks or are not eligible for services at other agencies.
In 2016 alone, HOPE served 1,500 unique individuals in our community. That translates into 36,942 contacts in Longmont. In that time HOPE provided over 30,200 meals, 1,300 hours of case management, and 158 nights of medical respite care to 30 people. Your partnership will provide safe recovery to those in need.
All of our services work toward our mission to provide life-sustaining and supportive services for homeless and at-risk individuals to encourage stability and self-sufficiency. So, HOPE offers a range of supportive services and is unique in providing medical respite/convalescent care to people experiencing homelessness. We implemented our respite stay program because shelters and social service programs are simply unable to accommodate clients recovering from surgery or struggling with acute health conditions. Area hospitals cannot provide extended post-treatment care to homeless patients. Therefore, people who are unhoused experience a high rate of unresolved health conditions or complications which lead to repeat emergency room visits and hospital stays due to improper healing at tremendous cost to local hospitals and our community.
Respite care is an important link in the transition from homelessness – illness or injury does not have to disrupt progress toward self-sufficiency. By offering appropriate care and referral of patients to post-recovery treatment and/or housing, this service is an important bridge supporting people without homes on the path to self-sufficiency.
Please visit our website for more information about our work in the community: hopeforlongmont.org.
About the Live & Give Program:
Help shape Longmont’s future in a single day.
On September 26th, Live & Give Longmont brings our community together for 24 hours of generosity. With everyone in the community giving whatever they can, we hope to raise start up funds for a few projects in our community. It’s about working together to accentuate the place we love—so it will continue to thrive today and for generations to come.
