Christmas Blessings

Jeremy and his mom are Door of Hope residents who came to the facility in August. As an only child, Jeremy doesn’t have siblings, or family, other than his mom to interact with. When he first came to Door of Hope, he had a difficult time acclimating to facility, and interacting with the other kids and staff. He would rarely talk at all, and when he did he was extremely sarcastic. Most people would simply give Jeremy his space, but the Door of Hope staff and residents made a decision to not give up on Jeremy. They continued to talk to him, invite him to join in activities, and mentor him. After a while, Jeremy started to open up. He began to join group activities, interact with the other kids, and was polite to the staff. His grade started to improve at school, which gave him more confidence. Before, Jeremy would not participate in the homework study groups with the rest of the kids, because he was embarrassed about his grades and his remedial studies. But when he started to excel, he was more than happy to show off his good grades to everyone.

 “I think it was a matter of Jeremy getting used to the Door of Hope environment and getting used to everyone,” says a staff member. “Plus, I think the fact that we didn’t give up on him played a big role in him coming around.” Not only is Jeremy doing well, his mom recently got a job, and a promotion, as well as a housing voucher. The family is looking forward to spending Christmas with their Door of Hope family and seeing what wonderful things are in store for them in the New Year.

Love and Stability at Door of Hope

      Julia is a 12-year-old girl who lives at Door of Hope with her mom and three brothers. Her family escaped a violent home situation, only to have the children placed in foster care. While in foster care, Julia and her siblings were frequently underfed, and had to change schools often. Her brothers and her have attended eight different schools since January.  Once the children were out of foster care, the family moved from shelter to shelter. Each new shelter meant a new school for Julia and her brothers. After months of living in different shelters, Julia’s family applied to live at Door of Hope. 
     Since living at Door of Hope, Julia and her family spend each night together. The children have a stable school situation now, and Julia has been able to make friends at school and at Door of Hope. She is extremely happy to be with her family, especially her mom. She is able to talk about her foster care experience with a counselor, and the Door of Hope staff, which is helping her heal. Most importantly, Julia is now in a situation where she’s surrounded by people who love and care for her.  

Volunteers Make a Difference

Brian is a 13 year-old Door of Hope resident. He is the oldest of four children, and he takes care of his mom. Brian has no men in his life, so he is the “man of the house.” This lack of male influence has caused Brian to shoulder much of the family responsibilities - well beyond the normal requirements of a 13 year-old. The pressure and stress eventually led him to become withdrawn, and caused his schoolwork to suffer. It became evident to the Door of Hope staff that Brian needed a strong male authority figure in his life.

Kevin came to Door of Hope as a volunteer. He brings his guitar to play for the kids. After his first night as a volunteer, Kevin taught Brian a few songs on the guitar. It became apparent that Kevin would be the perfect mentor for Brian. After a few days in prayer, Kevin agreed to mentor Brian on a regular basis. He now spends three hours a week with Brian, teaching him guitar and jiu-jitsu.

“I’ve seen such an amazing transformation in Brian since getting just a little bit of time with someone who genuinely cares for him and can spend time with him one-on-one,” says one of the directors. “It’s so important to never underestimate the power of giving a kid your undivided attention, regardless of how much time you have to give.”

October 15, 2010

A mother, father and their two young girls came to live at Door of Hope four months ago. During a time of despair and desperation, wonderful things started happening in their family. The father completed his high school education, and received his diploma. The mother attended church with the family last week, and accepted the Lord as her Savior. Then, she got a part time job, and started working toward a better life for her family. Recently, the family even got a car donated to Door of Hope.

The family is doing well, and thankful for the support they receive at Door of Hope. The husband is looking for work, and although he does temporary work, he’s still looking for full-time employment.

Door of Hope provides a refuge for those who are in need of a home, a job, and, most importantly, hope. But it also acts as a catalyst for good things to start happening in the lives of those who are struggling through hard times.

Pasadena Graduation: October 6, 2010

Warm, smiling faces. Happy children. The joy of a family gathering, and the anticipation of a new chapter in life. This is graduation at Door of Hope. It’s always bittersweet when families graduate from Door of Hope’s program. Everyone is so proud of how far these families have come. They’ve journeyed from being homeless, to Door of Hope’s temporary housing, and finally, to permanent housing. This accomplishment comes with hard work and dedication on the family’s part. But in the time they stay at Door of Hope, they become part of something larger: a close-knit family unit. Every family at Door of Hope becomes intertwined. They all support each other, and Door of Hope supports and loves each and every one of them.

“My heart is connected with all of you guys,” says Almaz Negusu, Director of Volunteers and Follow-up Care. “I thank God for you.”

“Before I came to Door of Hope, I pretty much had no hope left,” says one mother. “Door of Hope restored my hope and gave me a second chance.”

Every person involved in Door of Hope has a similar story. They are stories of God’s provision and love during desperate and lonely times. They are stories of laughter and triumph. Most importantly, they are stories of hope.

The families graduating have come a long way. They are now self-sufficient, and ready to transition into life on their own. Many are excited about new jobs, new housing, and new opportunities. But the all have something in common. 

“Once you’re part of Door of Hope, you’re always part of Door of Hope,” says Executive Director, Tim Peters. “We’re family.”

Nathan and Esther Delahay Sponsor a Room

Nathan and Esther Delahay have sponsored a resident room. Sponsoring a room is a monetary donation that enables us to do the prep work during transition between resident families. This includes purchasing new linens for beds and new towel sets for each member of the family. It also includes painting and any repair work needed during the time of transition. The following is what Esther shared with us in a recent email:

Nathan and I decided to sponsor a room at Door of Hope because after visiting the home and speaking with Tim about the program, we felt that this was a place that God was working through and in ...MIGHTLY. We have both been exposed to many "programs" for the poor and homeless, but the Door of Hope was more than a "program" that met the physical needs of people. Door of Hope's ministry is wholistic and we strongly believe in living our lives like that. All of life is connected, and our spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional life cannot be separated. Door of Hope is working at the root and foundations of families lives to bring about life long change. We can think of no better place to support a ministry and family who is doing the work of our Father.

Thank you for sharing with us the reason behind your sponsoring a room. And thank you so much for doing so.

Call Before Thanksgiving

Almaz, our "house mother", got a call a week before Thanksgiving. It was from Jumela, who graduated from the program a few months prior. A single woman, who had progressed through the program with her younger sister (of whom she had custody), was in her first apartment. She had never had an apartment before or in fact even a home. This being her first place, she called Almaz inviting her and her husband to come for Thanksgiving dinner. This is a joyous situation for us. When you see a family graduate and transition starting to do things for the first time that many of us take for granted - it brings joy and pride to our hearts. We are so thankful for all of the donors and volunteers who allow the opportunity for lives to be changed...forever.

News of the Week: September 29, 2008

The 3rd Annual Spring Golf Classic has been announced. It will be held March 2nd, 2009 at the prestigious Mountain Gate Country Club in the hills northeast of Bel Air in Los Angeles. This will be the third Golf Classic held by Union Rescue Mission and the second which Door of Hope has co-hosted. Last year the Golf Classic was held the beautiful Valencia Country Club in Valencia. A significant amount of money was raised for both of these organizations which serve the homeless populations in Los Angeles County.

Please join us this year and make a different in the lives of homeless families and have a great time!

Download the Save the Date card: here

News of the Week: September 22, 2008

HAVANA NIGHTS

Circle of Hope presents a night of salsa dancing, dinner and fun in their annual fall fundraiser benefiting Door of Hope.

Saturday, November 1, 2008
Altadena Country Club
2298 Country Club Drive, Altadena

Download the Save the Date card: here

To register online click: here (note: registering online requires an online credit card payment)

To register by mail you may download the registration card: here and mail it to the following address with payment:
Havana Nights
c/o Door of Hope
P.O. Box 90455
Pasadena, CA 91109

Note: Registrations submitted online and through the mail must be recieved by October 22, 2008. Online Registration will be closed at 9am on October 23.

News of the Week: September 15, 2008

Door of Hope has launched its new website. This new website is designed to provide information to donors, volunteers, case workers, program applicants, foundations and visitors interested in engaging with Door of Hope online.


Door of Hope would like to thank Chad Derby for assisting with the programming and designing of this new website and for teaching the administrative staff as to how to do some of the programming and web design. Such options as our online application page for program applicants were only possible because of Chad's tireless efforts to assist with providing relevant content and programming.


Thank you Chad!

Cardoso House Blessing

When the Cardoso Family graduated from our transitional housing program, some staff and board members went to their new home to visit, see their home and pray for them and their new home.

When we entered the apartment, the children grabbed my hand and led me through the apartment excitedly showing me their new home. The following video, filmed by Emily aged 4, captures the children's excitement about their new place

The following video captures our time together as I interview Maria after the time of prayer.

Posted by: Daniel

2007 Capital Campaign a Success

What started out with a plan to renovate the second floor bathroom and to build an additional full and half bath on the second floor turned into a renovation of the whole house. The funds raised from individuals and foundations which was sufficient for the bathroom renovations turned into funds which were able to go much further due to the volunteering of supplies and hours by the contractors and sub-contractors working on the renovations. This included a complete recarpeting of the house; renovations of the hardwood floors on the first floor; the painting of the entire house both inside and outside; interior decorations including new furniture, window treatments, and wall decorations; and the installation of all new light fixtures.

Thanks to all who contributed their time and efforts towards this project which went way beyond our expectations.

Our First Sponsored Room

Our first room in our Sponor-a-Room Program has been sponsored by Gerry Fagoaga since October 2007. Please consider taking part in our Sponsor-a-Room program. You can sponsor a resident family's room by providing the necessary upkeep of the room during the time of transiton between resident occupancy. This could include painting, cleaning, fixing up the room and getting needed furniture items. Sponsoring a room could be provided through a financial contribution or through volunteering to paint and move furniture or the like during the time of the transition between families. As we did with Gerry Fagoaga, we will place a plaque by the door to the room indicating that you have sponsored the room.