Project Hope was founded in 1981 by the Little
Sisters of the Assumption, who had first moved to the
Dudley Neighborhood of North Dorchester/Roxbury more
than 50 years ago. The Sisters settled in this
area in order to live and work with families, and to
join with them to make this a better community.
They began with the seeds of love for people of all
cultures and faiths; commitment to meeting basic needs
and seeking broader solutions; flexibility and
adaptability as needs change; and above all, that which
overcomes questions and doubts when the needs could seem
overwhelming: HOPE. Project Hope has evolved over
the years, but its core mission and approach remain the
same.
Hope Heals 1947-1960
Initially, "joining with families"
meant providing home health and social work services in
neighborhood residents' homes and assisting families who
were experiencing crisis: a parent's illness, a
difficult pregnancy, a dying child, or an accident.
The families of the neighborhood in those early years
were of Western European origin or descent, Catholic and
Jewish mostly, people who worked as laborers earning a
family wage, people who believed in the "American
Dream."
Cardinal Richard Cushing, who initially brought the
Little Sisters of the Assumption to Magnolia Street, and
found them the house at the corner of Robinhood Street
later helped the Sisters to build a new wing where
neighbors could develop vital community supports.
Hope Welcomes 1961-1974
Cardinal Cushing invited the Little
Sisters of the Assumption to live in Dorchester because
they were devoted to working with the poor. They
were also an international congregation of women, able
to speak different languages and be responsive to
different cultures. He was a prescient man.
The neighborhood changed as white working class
residents moved to the suburbs and new residents moved
in from the Southern states, from Latin American
countries, Haiti, Caribbean countries and Cape Verde.
The Little Sisters of the Assumption listened to the new
families to see how to be most responsive to what they
needed while continuing to provide health care services
to people in their homes.
Their new neighbors for the most part had few resources
and were moving into housing that was badly
deteriorating. Jobs were scarce. What they
needed were advocates and translators to assist them in
understanding the systems facing them in America
involving housing, health, education.
So, using their several languages, the sisters welcomed
their new neighbors, helping them develop food programs,
children's programs, and neighborhood-wide events that
brought families together.
Hope Happens 1975-1983
One of the definitions of the word
"happens" is "takes place." That is exactly what
transpired during the years 1975-1983: Hope took its
place on Magnolia Street.
Not that things looked hopeful - the neighborhood looked
like a war zone. Homes burned down one after
another. Fingers pointed at landlords out to cash
in on insurance money. The sounds of fire engines
and police sirens shrieked through the nights, and the
dawns only brought harsh light to the vacant lots piled
with rubbish.
The sisters living in the convent at 45 Magnolia Street
looked at vacant spaces all around them and questioned,
should we stay? Homelessness was a growing
problem: people were living under horrendous conditions.
Women and their children were sleeping in hospital
waiting rooms, cars, or vacant, rodent-infested
buildings.
The sisters at 45 Magnolia Street came up with this
answer to the growing problems facing their
neighborhood: "Let's open up our own convent and invite
homeless families to live with us." The sisters
continued to work in the community every day and at
night returned home to what had become one of the first
neighborhood-based family shelters in the state of
Massachusetts.
In 1983, in his inaugural address, then Governor Michael
Dukakis addressed homelessness as a primary concern of
his administration. Since 45 Magnolia Street - now
named Project Hope, originally an acronym for House Open
People Enter - was already up and running, it became a
model that helped shape the family shelter system for
the Commonwealth into a system sensitive to families.
Hope Builds 1984-1996
Not content with palliating homelessness, instead, the
Little Sisters of the Assumption sought to work with
families to effect profound changes in the causes of
homelessness.
They built strong collaborative city and state-wide
advocacy networks, and developed in house education
programs at Project Hope. Families in the shelter
and residents in the neighborhood needed child care, so
a child care program was established and licensed by the
Commonwealth.
Project Hope put its energies into building affordable
housing just about the same time the Dudley Street
Neighborhood Initiative began building its dreams for
the neighborhood. Project Hope's first such
project was providing homes for three families by taking
ownership of a building which had been rehabilitated by
the "Cardinal's Rehab." The second project was the
Magnolia Street Cooperative Housing, an 8 unit
cooperative.
At Project Hope any programs we create have the active
involvement of the participants in the creation.
It is important that victims of poverty and oppression
and homelessness not internalize their situation in such
a way as to blame themselves, rather they need to
understand the causes and forces behind the situation
and to act with us as advocates for change at the level
of cause.
Hope Continues
All of Project Hope's programs and
initiatives focus on strengthening the family and
building economic empowerment and independence.
The future asks: How do we build businesses that stay in
the community? How do we strengthen existing supports,
and provide the education and training needed to access
jobs that earn a living wage?
Funded by HUD and in collaboration with others, Project
Hope initiated the Transition to Work Collaborative, to
assist homeless families in 8 Boston shelters in
economic literacy training, access to education and
training, and job placement with follow-up supportive
services.
Project Hope is also a member of the One Family Campaign
funded by the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable
Foundation, to end family homelessness one family at a
time. Under this initiative Project Hope serves as
a site for the One Family Scholars program. This
program provides higher education and leadership
development training to homeless, formerly homeless, and
low-income women who have been identified as "women of
promise."
As the needs of our families changed, we outgrew our
space. In August 2006, Project Hope moved to a new
Community Building just around the corner on Dudley
Street. This new building will give us an
increased presence in our community and brings all of
our educational and workforce development activities
under one roof. As a result, we will be able to
serve more families.
Hope continues and will continue.
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