Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Broomham.
Hope, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My passion for coming alongside others has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. However, I believe it cemented during my college years studying social work. Those classes lit a fire in me that has burned bright to this day. Shortly before college graduation, I read a fictional novel based on a transitional living organization in Arkansas.
My heart immediately connected with what they were doing, and I remember thinking to myself, “This is it. This is what I want to do.” I emailed them, one thing leads to another, and before I knew it, I was headed to Arkansas. I moved (not knowing a soul!) and began working for them as a resident assistant. I joked at the time that I graduated college and became a momma of 8 in about a two-week span! Talk about a life change! That year was not easy by any means, but it is one that I still look back on with such fondness. Those girls will forever be a part of me, and I feel so privileged to have been granted access to their stories, their pains, and their joys.
After a year there, I knew two things: First, working with young women who were aging out of foster care or homeless for other reasons was the most fun, and second, I really missed being near family. After much prayer, I decided that as much as I loved that job, I am a family girl at heart. So, I moved to Texas and worked in various other social service settings for a few years. Nothing ever seemed to click quite the same, but I had resigned myself to the fact that my residential home days were over, and I started to develop new dreams. I started working towards new goals and seeing other ways my giftings could play out. I would think of it wistfully every now and then, but would never hold onto the thought for long.
But, oh what a sweet thing it is that God does not forget our dreams. Even the ones we have forgotten. When I first moved to Texas, I was made aware of Blake’s House in Plano. A home based on the one I had previously been at in Arkansas. I subbed over the years, and was involved voluntarily in some capacities, but never thought of much more. One day, the founder called me and asked if I was interested in taking on the director role as she was looking to transition into other things. I was so humbled and surprised! I soon took her up on that offer and have never looked back! I have been a director for a little over a year and a half now, and sometimes still pinch myself that I get paid to do this!
Has it been a smooth road?
While becoming the director was all excitement at first, as I settled in, I realized the job was much weightier than I had anticipated. Being a small organization, it was necessary for me to wear many hats, and it took me a while to find a rhythm in all of that. I had never done fundraising, marketing, or bookkeeping before, so I was forced to learn a lot in a relatively short period of time. However, looking back on it now, I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to grow my skill base and grow in areas I never thought possible!
Additionally, I think it took me a year or so to really find my voice in this space. I had acquired a fair amount of skills, tools, and knowledge over the years, but it took some time for me to become confident in my abilities. I am one of the younger ones in this sphere, and it was intimidating at first to be surrounded by others who have been doing this work much longer than I have. But, they became fast friends, and I have come to cherish those individuals. It is helpful to know those who have gone before to know what systems work, and where change could be helpful. I am only as good as those around me, and I am thankful to have such a great community to work in!
Lastly, helping someone change their life is just hard work (for them, and for you!) It is not a short-term process, and you have to be willing to be in it for the long game. There were many times in that first year where I felt the tension between what I expected and hoped for our girls and the mindset in which they were coming from. Never experiencing poverty myself, I would often question if I was truly the best person to help these girls. There were just so many places that felt hard.
I spent a lot of time praying, reading books, and asking questions to better understand the mindset and motivations of those coming from an impoverished situation. I did not want to assume that my way was the right way of doing things simply because it was what I knew. I have learned so many things since I first started at Blake’s House, and I feel I am a better person because of it. Our girls teach me things every day. We are all hurting and broken in some form or fashion, and the only difference between my story and theirs is the opportunities that I have had along the way. I have learned that success may not always take shape like I thought it would, and to see and celebrate all the small milestones that are truly significant in their journey.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Blake’s House story. Tell us more about the business.
Blake’s House is a transitional living home in Plano, Texas, for young women who have aged out of the foster care system or who find themselves homeless for other reasons.
Blake’s House seeks to empower these young women through life skills, supportive community, and accountability, to go forth and lead self-sufficient lives that bring pride, purpose, and peace to their days. Blake’s house works to address the underlying problems of homelessness, and not fix only the symptoms. We believe in reducing individual’s poverty holistically: relationally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Blake’s House is for the girl who believes her past story does not dictate the outcome of her future. For the one who’s not afraid to give it all she’s got, because she believes the end goal is worth the short-term sacrifice. For the girl who is tired of going it alone and is ready for a team of the greatest cheerleaders and a community that will never leave. For the one who wants to feel empowered by love to write a story she is proud of. We are for the girl who wants to break the cycle of poverty and say, “This stops with me”, thus, changing generations to come.
What I hope we are known for is threefold: First, that we are truly good at what we do. There is so much today about bigger and better, and I feel really strongly about doing our thing, no matter how big or small, and doing it really well. We only house three girls at a time so that we can give them as much individualized attention as possible and create as close to a family like an environment that we can (those have proven to be the most successful spaces for long-term life change.) It is my hope that we can produce graduates who have truly learned and internalized the skills so that they are able to sustain independent life and no longer hop from program to program.
Second, that our girls, regardless of how far they made it in the program, walk away knowing they have someone (or a few someones) who deeply care for them, and who will celebrate them always. I hope we are known to be people who tangibly live out the love of God, that can be felt by anyone who enters our home. At my core, I am a celebrator, and I hope we create a celebratory culture that ripples out and catches on to change the world in ways we never would have imagined.
Third, that we will help anyone, always, if someone calls that does not fit our criteria, we will still do all we can to help them find secure housing. There are some organizations that just give out a generic sheet (which is still helpful), but we really want to provide individuals with referrals that will fit their specific situation. It is already hard enough being in a place where you are stressing over housing, and it can be so disheartening to call a bunch of numbers that you don’t qualify for, or that don’t have room. I hope that we can be known as a place that is helpful for anyone, and not just the girls we serve.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It is honestly hard to know what will happen in the future. Transitional youth are such a transient population that it is hard to predict what will happen next month let alone the next few years. However, transitional programs are getting a lot more attention now than ever before.
It seems as though transitional housing was unheard of ten+ years ago, but has become quite the hot spot in the last five years. We have seen many more organizations similar to ours rise up in the last couple of years- which is really exciting!
Best case scenario is that we work ourselves out of a job. That as a community, we are able to rally together and significantly reduce homelessness in our city. I honestly don’t know that we will see that happen in our day- but it is worth aiming for!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blakeshouse.org/
- Phone: 972-358-4732
- Email: hope@blakeshouse.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blakeshouse4U
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