Claudia sat with her in the kitchen of Casa Segura, the crisis care center, as she was struggling to learn how to breast feed her newborn baby. This young teenager cast her glance to the ground and didn’t take her eyes from that place as we walked in. All around us were sounds of a full house- toddler boys running from one room to the next, young girls doing crafts in the activity room, another teenager playing with young ones on the floor of the living room. So much was going on, and in the midst of it was a young girl learning how to be a mother.
This situation and many others like it are common occurrences when you’re serving such a wide range of children. Casa Segura is a safe, family-style environment (hence “casa segura”) for infants to 18 years of age that have no where else to go during a time of a crisis. Reaching over 120 children a year, it is the only resource of its kind in the area. However, it is difficult to provide the best environment for these extenuating circumstances, i.e. a young mother or a pregnant teen, a sibling group, a longer term placement or a child with special needs. Because Legacy of Hope is committed to providing the highest standard of care, we needed to expand crisis care to fit these needs.
Here comes the exciting part: we have begun a partnership with the Hovde Foundation to be able to fill this need as well as some others within the ministry that will help us to continue growing and operating with excellence.
Established in 1998, the Eric D. Hovde and Steven D. Hovde Foundation is committed to helping vulnerable children and families in crisis. Over $11M in grants have been given to fund research, build and finance “Hovde Houses” and support US-based non-profits.
Legacy of Hope will be getting its own “Hovde Houses” in the purchase of two of our foster/transition homes and an expansion in the form of a second level for “Casa Segura 2.”
Right now, there are nine Hovde Houses in Ghana, Guatemala, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda, and Wisconsin, USA and new homes in Kenya, and of course, Honduras!
Hovde Foundation’s goal with these homes is that they “provide shelter, supportive services, and love to vulnerable children. They offer a safe haven from injustice, neglect, malnutrition and other forms of abuse. Each house is operated by a carefully-selected local partner (Legacy of Hope) with professional experience providing appropriate cultural, physical, and psychological care for children in their community.” This mirrors Legacy of Hope Foundation’s own vision, which makes this partnership so perfect.
Once the updates are completed, the “Hovde Houses” will have doubled their daily housing capacity, allowing Legacy of Hope to reach even more children in need as we pursue our vision to defend children, preserve families, and restore hope.