Project Hope for the Homeless will host a public open house and pancake brunch from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, February 15 at the shelter located at 25 Freedom Road. The free pancake brunch for open house visitors includes coffee, juice, pancakes, and sausage. Tours of the shelter will be conducted and the public will have the chance to interact with staff and obtain information about volunteering opportunities.

Project Hope has typically scheduled open house events on weekends. The idea behind scheduling an open house during a weekday is to provide a different timeframe for people to learn more about Project Hope.

The open house event also coincides with the 26th anniversary of Project Hope, which was formed February 14, 1993. The organization has grown substantially from a temporary, 25-bed, seasonal shelter that initially operated in local churches to a 50-bed, year-round program in a permanent, expanded location with additional aftercare services.

“This is a great opportunity to put your love into action for Valentine’s Day,” said Judy Burr, Project Hope for the Homeless executive director. “Come enjoy brunch with someone you love and get familiar with the mission!”

Project Hope for the Homeless, which is the only homeless shelter in Lake County, served 471 guests including 65 children in 2018. The optional Aftercare Program provides support to former guests and has helped reduced the recidivism rate to less than 10 percent. The mission of Project Hope is to respond to the human hurts and hopes of people in Lake County who are homeless by providing emergency shelter, care, and guidance in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Our staff works with guests to provide proactive solutions to help them reach independence in Lake County. The shelter provides a hot meal along with goal-setting and referral services for up to 50 guests total per night. Up to 38 adult individuals may stay at the adult shelter facility and up to 12 people within families may stay each night in a separate wing of the building as part of the Families Moving Forward program. Reservations to stay at Project Hope are handled by calling 211.

For more information about Project Hope, visit the Event Website link to the left.