New Hope Stories

26 Dec - You Met the Match!

Posted at 19:31h in New Hope Stories, News, The Year of Creativity 0 Comments

Thanks to a generous gift from our Board of Directors, your #GivingTuesday donations were matched up to $4,000 this year! And better yet, you met the match by donating over $4,000!! Did you know that New Hope receives the majority of our funding through Medicaid reimbursement? This means that many of the services we provide to our clients are paid for by the government. However, this funding often leaves a gap between what is paid for by Medicaid and the quality of care that we are committed to providing to our clients. Your support this Giving Tuesday and throughout the year...

23 Dec - New Hope’s Aktion Club Gives Back

Posted at 19:08h in New Hope Stories, News 0 Comments

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New Hope’s Kiwanis Aktion Club collected non-perishable items as part of their Annual Food Drive supporting a local pantry. This year they chose to donate to the Pike Township Trustee’s office to help start their own food pantry in 2020. The Aktion Club enjoys finding ways to give back to the Indianapolis community throughout the year, but they especially enjoy their annual food drive to help others during the holidays. A huge THANKS to everyone who donated this year. There were two full trunk loads of goods to deliver!! To celebrate their donation success and the holidays, they had their...

23 Dec - A Spirit of Grace and Perseverance

Posted at 18:08h in Client Profile, New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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Rosemary Bostick's middle name should be perseverance as she has faced many challenges in her life yet has been able to overcome all with grace and spirit. Before she found her way to New Hope, Rosemary was living in a shelter. In 2002, she moved to the Rendu group home, which provided a safe environment and assisted her with health issues. Even though she had lived out on her own with her family for many years, she enjoyed living at the group home. In July of 2005, Rosemary moved to an apartment in the CYCS program, now...

16 Dec - Service Spotlight: Ralph Gehrung

Posted at 14:28h in New Hope Stories, Service Spotlight 1 Comment

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When Ralph Gehrung interviewed for the maintenance technician position almost fourteen years ago, he assumed he would be working in the Payne Road building. This seemed like a good fit as he had previously worked for a large retirement complex. When Ralph returned for a second interview, he was taken out to see several of our homes and realized the magnitude of maintaining so many homes. Fortunately for New Hope, Ralph was hired as he had both construction and maintenance experience. He continues to be a dedicated, skilled, caring and valued member of the maintenance team. One...

16 Dec - Mission Minute: It’s Been an Honor

Posted at 13:46h in Mission Minute, New Hope Stories 2 Comments

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by Kathe Rae, Manager of Mission Integration and Volunteers In recent years, I have had the pleasure of writing monthly Mission Minute articles highlighting the importance of New Hope’s mission: our core values, vision, history, traditions, recognition, fun, etc. However, writing this month’s article was quite bittersweet as it is my last one. After 39 years with New Hope, I am retiring to pursue my next life journey. Please indulge me as I share of few memories and reflections. Of course, I certainly could write not only one book but several volumes of New Hope stories and...

13 Dec - Thanks to American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation

Posted at 17:20h in Community and Corporate Partners, New Hope Stories, News 0 Comments

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This fall, New Hope was proud to accept a grant of $2,500 from the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation. It wasn't a typical grant, though, and we never asked for the money. In fact, it was a New Hope mother who believes in our mission that wanted to give back to us. Eldonna Merritt, the mother of one of the individuals we serve, saw an email from her insurance company, American Family Insurance, inviting her to nominate a deserving nonprofit for their Dreams Foundation Community of Dreamers grant program. After years of working with New Hope to provide her son with...

25 Nov - Setting a New Goal

Posted at 21:06h in New Hope Stories 0 Comments

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by Denise Caudill-Irons, NHI Board Member and Mom I finally accepted that there was nothing I could do to change my current and stressful circumstances. Thus, I decided to redirect my energies and focus on a new mission in order to keep my sanity. Like some sharks that must keep moving to breathe, I need to keep thoughts going through my head to feel productive. I need to prepare, analyze, predict, and plan for ways to help my daughter achieve her best life. A year ago, a friend connected me with another parent who has an older daughter with...

25 Nov - He Keeps on Ticking

Posted at 19:54h in Client Profile, New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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Happy Birthday to Kenny Lyons, who just turned 50 this month! Kenny stated he is like a Timex watch: he “takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” When Kenny was 17, he fell asleep while driving late at night and hit a bridge. He sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which required significant medical care and rehabilitation. In 1990 he was admitted to the New Hope residential facility on Beta Hall, which was the unit designated for individuals with TBIs. At that time, he needed a wheelchair for mobility, but through his determination and therapy with Reba Kerkhof, New Hope's...

21 Nov - Saying Goodbye

Posted at 19:17h in New Hope Stories, News, Service Spotlight, The Year of Creativity 3 Comments

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With heavy but happy hearts, two of New Hope's longest serving leaders are saying goodbye to their careers at New Hope. Lynn Feldman, Director of Supported Living, and Kathe Rae, Manager of Mission Integration and Volunteers, are both retiring after a collective 80+ years of dedicated service to New Hope's mission and to those we serve. Lynn Feldman started at New Hope shortly after its doors opened in 1978 as a occupational therapist. She fondly remembers sitting on the floor and assembling furniture for the 200-bed facility on her first day and intending to find a new job after a...

15 Nov - Welcome, Cassi Dean!

Posted at 15:05h in New Hope Stories, News, Service Spotlight 1 Comment

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As we say goodbye to Lynn Feldman after her 41 years of service to New Hope, we are glad to welcome back Cassi Dean as our new Director of Supported Living. Cassi has twenty years of experience serving individuals with disabilities. She started at New Hope as a Team Leader in Supported Living in 2007 and left in 2017 after becoming a Manager. Since then she has gained leadership experience at the Arc of Greater Boone County and, most recently, as the Executive Director of INcare Solutions where she expanded their supported living program. Her peers describe her as hard-working,...

15 Nov - Service Spotlight: Henrietta Day

Posted at 13:24h in New Hope Stories, Service Spotlight 4 Comments

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Henrietta’s co-workers and friends would probably say she missed her calling and should be in the party planning business. While she does love parties and is very good at planning them, it's who the parties are for that is her passion: the individuals served by New Hope. In January, Henrietta will be celebrating her 26th year with New Hope and she can certainly confirm that time does fly when you are having fun! Years ago, prior to relocating to Indiana, Henrietta was working and volunteering for persons with disabilities in California. After Henrietta’s move here, she was encouraged to apply for...

29 Oct - Employment Inclusion

Posted at 18:11h in Community and Corporate Partners, New Hope Stories 0 Comments

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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), but at New Hope and other disability service providers, we celebrate employment inclusion year-round. In 2016, New Hope began offering Vocational Services using referrals from Indiana's Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR). Our Vocational Services team works with dozens of individuals who are looking for assistance preparing for, finding and keeping meaningful employment. Vocational Services Team Leader, Patrick Mitchell, loves working with the people he serves. He enjoys the challenge of helping them set and achieve their goals, sometimes lofty. He says that the trick is helping to find realistic, attainable goals that have...

29 Oct - Hanging onto Hope

Posted at 13:23h in New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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by Denise Caudill-Irons, NHI Board Member and Parent If you really want to scare people this Halloween, answer honestly when they ask you how you are doing. When I do, I see the blood drain from their faces; their eyes widen and dart around the room looking for a way out; and then, they quickly escape as though my pain is contagious. Luckily, most people step into my tale of gloom, giving me the strength and comfort that has sustained me through this unexpectedly long season of extraordinary situations. As the weeks turned into months, I felt disheartened and...

23 Oct - Change is a Good Thing

Posted at 19:31h in Client Profile, New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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Christy Bowser does not like change. However, one change in her life that she feels has been wonderful was her move to the Laboure Group Home in July of 2018. She previously lived in her own apartment in Noblesville, and she was feeling lonely, especially after she lost her job at Marsh when it closed. Christy had loved working there for over 20 years and had many co-worker friends. She said her sister, Michelle, thought Laboure would provide opportunities to meet new friends, get to do things she enjoys and also help her monitor her diabetes....

15 Oct - AIM Experiences AdaptFit

Posted at 17:38h in Community and Corporate Partners, New Hope Stories, The Year of Creativity 1 Comment

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According to the CDC, "nearly half of all adults with disabilities don’t get any aerobic physical activity." Nearly half! Can you believe that?? Our friends at Summit Strength and CrossFit have been helping our AIM groups practice physical fitness through CrossFit training. Their new class, AdaptFit, allows nearly a dozen young adults with disabilities to enjoy the benefits of CrossFit training each week including learning new functional skills, setting personal goals and getting out of their comfort zones. Not only are the individuals we serve getting fit and enjoying themselves, their coaches are enjoying this partnership as well. Here's what Summit...

24 Sep - Exploring Indy!

Posted at 19:09h in Client Profile, New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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Jacob Nydam first joined New Hope's AIM program as a high school student at the beginning of 2019, attending only a couple of days a week. After graduating from Hamilton South Eastern this spring, Jacob began coming more often. His favorite part of the AIM program is spending time with his friends. He enjoys their trips to the park where he can explore the woods and to the library where he can read and learn new things on the computer. He also enjoys their volunteer activities with Meals on Wheels and other local nonprofits. “Jacob is constantly experiencing new adventures each...

26 Aug - Taking Action

Posted at 17:52h in Client Profile, New Hope Stories 0 Comments

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In the five years Patty Cooper has been served by New Hope in the Supported Living Program, she has been involved in a lot of interesting, fun and community service-oriented activities, which is just the way she likes it. She resides at The Lakes apartments with two roommates, one of which is her very good friend, Cindy. She has had two jobs, Pizza Hut and MCL, which she really enjoyed. She's disappointed that she is unable to work at this time due to health issues. Patty is a charter member of the New Hope of Indiana Kiwanis...

26 Aug - This Too Will Pass

Posted at 13:30h in New Hope Stories 1 Comment

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For us, summer break is a 10-week marathon that involves scheduling activities and events to the brink of exhaustion. After taking the summer off from writing, my intention this month was to share what I learned from our latest adventures. However, it felt disingenuous to write something that seemed so superficial. I asked to write these entries so that I could share candidly my experiences of being a mother of a child with differing abilities. As difficult as it is, being authentic is my primary goal. Due to recent circumstances, I am experiencing a great deal of...

15 Aug - Service Spotlight: Maureen Wilson

Posted at 17:57h in New Hope Stories, Service Spotlight, The Year of Creativity 0 Comments

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Maureen Wilson has been a resident in Indy her whole life, and she has been a dedicated employee at New Hope for the past 20 years. Having grown up in Indy, she went to North Central high school, then moved on to beauty school at the House of James in Carmel. Her start at New Hope began unexpectedly. When she was on maternity leave from working as a hairstylist at JC Penny, she became a caregiver to one of her neighbors. While she was a caregiver, she met someone from New Hope who worked for her neighbor. She realized that...

29 Jul - Serving the Community

Posted at 19:44h in New Hope Stories, News 1 Comment

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John Lorton, who is served in Supported Living and resides in the Washington Blvd. home has been appointed to the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Disabilities in Indianapolis. He was nominated to serve by current INARF President/CEO, and former New Hope Executive Director, Steve Cook. John is honored to be a council member and will provide a unique perspective as a person who sustained a brain injury in his teens and has tackled many challenges throughout his adult life with courage, strength, faith and a witty sense of humor. John has been a volunteer at St. Vincent DePaul for the...