Hello friends of Hope House and Happy 2024. We pray your year is off to a wonderful start. It is that time of year when we send out our annual update to let you know what is going on with the progress, mission, and ministry of Hope House of Central Illinois.

For the last six to seven years, we have been selling a dream or idea of what Hope House will do once the building is completed and the doors are open. We hear the question, “When do you anticipate opening the doors?” Usually the answer begins with, “Well, we are not quite there yet.” Yes, we need to raise more money to complete the physical building and house families for a short bereavement retreat. But Hope House is so much more than just the physical building and the land. So the real answer to the question of “When do you anticipate opening the doors?” is ….. NOW!

This year we want to open the door to communication. You can reach out to us through email: hopehouseofcentralillinois@yahoo.com at any time. We would love to hear your story. When did you lose your child? What age was he/she? What has been your biggest challenge? What do you want to communicate to those around you but are afraid to voice? Are you able to recognize one positive change in yourself since the loss?

This year we want to open the door to service. What can we do to meet you where you are now – without yet having the building in which to host you? Please let us provide you with resources that help parents, families, and friends navigate loss. Here at Hope House we want to serve and provide resources for counseling, or other tools and opportunities that may help along the journey of grief and loss.

This year we want to open the door to community. Hope House is a safe place where people have freedom to talk, cry, laugh, or just sit quietly with someone who knows and understands the loss of a child, wherever they are – not just at our building. We would like to host memorials at which you can participate and recognize the significant part they played in your family. No matter the timeframe of your loss, we are here to walk beside you. Or perhaps you have walked this journey and want to walk beside others who have recently been impacted by loss. There is community here. You are not alone.

Our goal for 2024 is, of course, to be able to financially finish the physical building and begin to host families with an opportunity for a personalized retreat following the loss of a child. But we want to get to know and serve the families of loss in our community NOW. Look for some changes in our website and a more prominent voice and service in a nd to our community as we……

Open The Doors in ’24!