‘Hope Fest’ to celebrate N.O. haven for unhoused moms, their children

Hotel Hope, originally built as real hotel, has become known for its successful track record of providing a safe and loving temporary home for unhoused women and their children as they work toward independence with case workers. (Please scroll down to the bottom of this article for details on Hotel Hope’s fifth anniversary event on April 1; photos by Beth Donze, Clarion Herald)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

On April 1, Hotel Hope will mark the fifth anniversary of its bright and cheerful location at 3923 Martin Luther King Blvd. with a celebration-fundraiser called “Hope Fest,” featuring musical guest Irma Thomas. (see below for event details).

Since opening its doors in 2018, Hotel Hope has served 250 unhoused mothers and 450 children, with 70% of these families completing the program, attaining housing and going on to establish firm income footing in fields such as healthcare, graphic arts, cosmetology, cake design and secretarial work.

The two-story hotel, which currently houses nine mothers and 14 children, offers 15 spacious guest rooms equipped with a private bathroom, mini-refrigerator and microwave oven. The hotel also offers play space for children, laundry facilities, community space and daily breakfast and dinner for guests as they work with Hotel Hope’s case workers to get back on their feet through employment, educational, health and other vital wrap-around services.

“There are less than 40 emergency shelter beds for women and children in New Orleans,” said Presentation Sister Mary Lou Specha, Hotel Hope’s  executive director.

Volunteers step up

Hotel Hope was conceived in 2009 out of  a  pressing need for emergency housing and supportive services for women with children who were experiencing homelessness. Over the next few years, its board members began developing its mission and vision, securing the required funding, leadership and facilities to begin delivering services. In 2012, Hotel Hope hired its founding executive director, Sister Mary Lou, and immediately began assisting families who were experiencing homelessness.

Before finding its permanent facility on Martin Luther King Boulevard, Hotel Hope housed families in hotels and provided other assistance. With generous support from a major benefactor, Hotel Hope was able to significantly expand its mission in 2018 by purchasing the former Crescent Palms Motel and mobilizing a generous corps of volunteers.

Last year alone, some 230 volunteers, from high school-age through their 80s, gave 7,400 hours to Hotel Hope, including those who signed up online to prepare, plate and deliver the daily evening meal. Volunteers also assist with grocery shopping, sorting donations, gardening, maintenance, carpentry needs, greeting visitors at the front desk, helping residents’ children with their homework as study buddies, and providing childcare – so Hotel Hope’s mothers can attend their two mandatory weekly meetings focsuing on their career readiness, health, educational and other independent-living needs.

“We are so blessed. The Catholic community has really embraced us immensely! We wouldn’t be where we are today without our dedicated board members, donors and volunteers,” said Sister Mary Lou. “Even during COVID, they brought food (for the residents); we never shut down.”

Upgrades create warm environment for struggling familes

Recent improvements at Hotel Hope include swapping out one of the two double beds in each hotel room for bunk beds, allowing family members to have their own beds and freeing up room space to accommodate a small table and chairs and a reading/play area with a bean bag and corner bookshelf.

“Jesus is in every room,” noted Sister Mary Lou, pointing to a crucifix on a bedroom wall.

Recently, with the help of a grant from the City of New Orleans, the 6-plex building next to Hotel Hope – originally purchased with the hotel – was refurbished into a bright and airy administrative center in which Hotel Hope’s interns and staff of two full time and six part-time employees work and meet with the residents. Raised-basement in style, the administration building’s ground floor houses a series of rooms in which donations are grouped by category, including personal care products, clothing and items needed to help residents transition to their future homes, such as small appliances, cookware, mattresses, tables and chairs. The basement’s toy room is especially close to Sister Mary Lou’s heart – every child receives a new toy of his or her own when they come in, and the area enables mothers to “shop” for gifts given to each child on their birthday and at Christmas. They can even pick out their children’s Halloween costumes.

“Everything we can do to empower the mother, we do,” Sister Mary Lou said. “Our core values are love, compassion and empowerment – that idea of, ‘I can make it! I can start anew!’”

Future plans

By Easter of this year, Hotel Hope is slated to unveil its latest improvement – made possible by the removal of the hotel’s original bar area and capturing space formerly used as a breezeway and three hotel rooms: A new commercial kitchen, dining room with seating for up to 60 people and multi-purpose space for crafts, childcare and movie nights will provide sorely needed communal space at the hotel (ongoing renovations of the space are pictured here).

In the first few years of its existence, residents would eat in shifts in the cramped bar area – “the kids would sit and the moms would stand as they fed their kids,” Sister Mary Lou recalled. “Since COVID, our residents have been eating in their rooms and warming up their food there. We always wanted a place where people could eat together. We didn’t have a communal space and now we will. It’s a dream come true! ”

Other plans for the next five years include hiring additional staff and developing a housing program to help more Hotel Hope’s “graduates” locate affordable housing units in safe neighborhoods. 

“Our average stay (at Hotel Hope) used to be 33 days. Now, most of our families are here for 45 to 60 days,” Sister Mary Lou said. “And the reason that they’re not moving out (as quickly) is because apartment units, after Hurricane Ida, are very minimal and they’re not affordable. Part of our vision is to continue to engage legislators and city council for more affordable units.”

Sister Mary Lou also said she also hopes to see at least 5% of Hotel Hope’s independent-living families progress from being renters to becoming homeowners over the next five years. She said residents get a taste of what “home” means during their time at warm and welcoming Hotel Hope.

“If you come to a place that’s well taken care of, and it’s safe and it’s clean, it gives you an opportunity to think about a new beginning,” Sister Mary Lou said. “How do I want my life to look like? How do I want my (future) home to look?”

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Irma Thomas to headline April 1 ‘Hope Fest’

• WHAT: “Hope Fest,” Hotel Hope’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration-Fundraiser
 
™• WHEN: April 1, 7 to 10 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

™• WHERE:  Zony Mash Beer Project (next to Hotel Hope), 3940 Thalia St., New Orleans
 
™• FEATURING: Legatron Prime from 6:45 to 8 p.m., followed by a concert from Irma Thomas; the evening includes light refreshments from local restaurants and a silent virtual auction.

™• TICKETS: $75 (general admission; includes one drink); $150 (reserved seating, open bar); tickets available online at https://hotelhope.org/hopefest/

Pictured at left: Presentation Sisters Julie Marsh (Hotel Hope’s director of operations) and Mary Lou Specha (Hotel Hope’s executive director) pause in the hotel’s courtyard/play area next to a statue of the Blessed Mother. Two murals were recently installed at Hotel Hope, both of them by artist Journey Allen: “Hope for Tomorrow,” in which a boy dreams about his future in various professional fields (pictured at the top of this article); and “Roots of Hope,” (pictured here) whose roots soon will be painted with the names of Hotel Hope residents who have moved on to independent living. “They took root and are now in a better tomorrow,” Sister Mary Lou said.