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New Hope : New Future...Our Capital Campaign
INTRODUCTION:
Where
will they go? For most parents, that question is easily answered with colleges
and careers. But for parents of children with developmental disabilities, that
question is much more difficult. Since 1960, New Hope Center, located in Dolton,
Illinois, has been the answer. Founded by a small group of parents whose
children with developmental disabilities were unable to receive appropriate
education in the public school system, New Hope Center, Inc. has grown into a
not-for-profit organization that provides developmental training and employment,
residential, and recreation services to individuals with developmental
disabilities throughout the southern and southeastern suburbs of Chicago.
 Schools and public programs may offer
educational and vocational based services to individuals with developmental
disabilities in their community, but this ends when the students turn 21. Often
times, parents of these children must leave their jobs to take care of them,
causing additional stress and hardship on the entire family.
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During all
of the 44 years that God blessed us to have Nancy on
this Earth, she received services from New Hope. In the
early years, she bonded in the classroom with peers who
had similar interests. As a young adult, she learned
good, healthy work habits, which ultimately led to her
being hired at Target. During her last 14 years, she
moved into a group home, built and staffed by New Hope,
where she gained an unbelievable amount of self worth,
stemming from her daily responsibilities and newly found
independence. New Hope, very literally, became her life.
We are blessed to have shared 44 wonderful years with
Nancy, and we are very grateful that New Hope shared it
with us.
– Peggy Brennan, Palos Heights
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NEED:
Despite progress over the past 25 years
that has radically expanded the opportunities available to people with
disabilities, traditional stereotypes continue to be held, perpetuating the
limited expectations that go with them. While New Hope has improved the lives of
hundreds of individuals with developmental disabilities, it is clear that many
more need our assistance.
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People with
disabilities constitute the largest minority group in the U.S., making up an
estimated 20% of the total population in 2000.
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In 2004,
ADAPT, the nation’s largest grassroots disability rights organization,
ranked Illinois the fifth worst state in providing options for people with
disabilities to live and receive support services.
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ADAPT also
ranked Illinois 46th out of 50 in community spending for people with
developmental disabilities.
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More than
10,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities remained on
waiting lists for services throughout Illinois in 1998.
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According to
Service, Inc., there are no services nor agencies available for employment,
life skills training, or adult daily living skills development in northeast
Will County.
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Only three
agencies, of which New Hope is the largest, provide residential services in
northeast Will County.
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Individuals
from northeast Will County must travel up to 45 minutes each way to other
service providers.
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The Department
of Human Services does not allow transportation to exceed one hour each way,
leaving those individuals outside the permitted commute area without
services.
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85 individuals
currently enrolled in New Hope programs must relocate to other facilities
due to the rapid outgrowth of our current spaces.
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SOLUTION:
Although we currently provide services to
over 575 individuals, there are many others who could benefit from our
assistance. New Hope is responding to the lack of services available in
northeast Will County with its New Hope : New Future initiative, a $5 million
capital campaign to build a new 50,000 square foot training center in Crete,
Illinois to serve people with developmental disabilities. This training center
will provide vocational, employment, and life skills training in a location
where there are currently no agencies providing these services.
We have already acquired an optimally
located site on which to build our new training center. The land is centrally
located within the projected service area and has convenient access to major
roads for ease of transportation.
The facility will be fully ADA compliant.
Our design will include offices and rooms to accommodate on-site therapies and
counseling, including Occupational, Physical, Behavioral, and Recreational
Therapies, along with nursing services. The new center will also greatly enhance
our ability to recruit and retain capable staff members, a continuing challenge
in our field.
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CAMPAIGN:
This new facility equals stability: the
stability of New Hope as an organization prepared and able to meet the
continuing, growing, and ever-changing needs of an increasing population; the
stability of services for program participants; and the demonstrated stability
as a permanent fixture in our southern Chicago service area.
New Hope was established by parents with a
dream of something more for their children with disabilities. Today, we continue
to make this dream a reality. New Hope is not just an array of programs, but a
living, caring, and dynamic entity supporting and nurturing each of our clients.
You can be an important part of it.
A new center in Crete will allow
individuals who are currently lacking services in that area to have access to
our programs. In this way, New Hope : New Future ensures that individuals with
developmental disabilities receive the care they need now and in the future.
With your support, these individuals in northeast Will County will receive the
opportunities, education, and high quality of care they deserve.
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