Michele Meyers – Staff Writer
Hope Place is exactly that, a safe haven for families to stay and regroup after life’s struggles have overwhelmed their most basic of necessities: food, shelter and safety.
Three weeks ago, on a Friday night, Buck James, the Executive Director of Halifax Urban Ministries, was just wrapping up his week when he got a phone call. A father was living in a car with his two children. The boys were three years old and under. He sprang into action.
Hope Place had one room available at the time, but it had been promised to another family. Luckily, they hadn’t moved in yet. After a heart-to-heart with the father, James was able to offer the space for the weekend with follow-up for critical assistance.
“The oldest boy, the 3-year-old, walked in the room, ran over to the bunk beds and with big eyes and a big smile said, ‘Daddy, can we live here forever?’ It’s moments like those that make this tough job worth it,” said James. “The most eye-opening thing is, these are people like you and me, but we have backup. Without it, you’re on the streets.”
James has been the director of HUM since January 2018 and had the privilege of overseeing the end of construction of Hope Place at its new location. On May 15, 2018, Hope Place moved from its location on North Street in Daytona Beach to the previously closed Hurst Elementary School. It offers living space for approximately 300 families and unaccompanied youth.
“It takes so many people in the community to make this happen. My background at Daytona State College as the Vice President of Student Enrollment and Student Life has helped to build a much-needed relationship with the college. We even have the college’s construction trades class working on wall mounted cabinets for each family to go in the cafeteria there,” said James.
The connection to the College does not stop there. As early as 2012, Forough Hosseini, the Chair of Daytona State College Board of Trustees, heard former HUM Executive Director Troy Ray talk about establishing a shelter at the old elementary school. Hosseini’s passion for conquering underprivileged students’ hunger and homelessness issues is evident in her founding of Food Brings Hope, a charitable organization that focuses on improving students’ lives, giving them the opportunity to excel.
Hope Place’s Shelter Team Leader, Lisa DeGolier, met with DSC’s Senior Professor in the School of Humanities and Communication, Frank Gunshanan, to establish a list of basic needs and what the college could offer in response. They discovered the list was endless on both fronts.
DeGolier was impressed. “We have had great assistance from DSC. They have assisted with our garden. The women’s basketball team recently had a clinic for the kids. We are hoping for another sports clinic in the summer. Maybe soccer. The nursing program came over during our kids’ spring break on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They took the kids from 9 to noon and offered activities the entire time. We’ve had sporadic tutoring until recently, but we are working on that.”
The DSC club, Women in Science and Engineering, or WISE, is presided over by student president Aaminah Ouda. She can be seen at Hope Place tutoring the children every week, most Monday through Thursday nights. The students volunteer their time to help the predominantly elementary school-aged kids get a better grasp on the basics of reading, writing and math or help them with the immediate demands of homework.
Ziba Kon, a student at DSC, joined the effort when Ouda asked for volunteers to tutor at the shelter.
Kon explained, “I originally got involved when the WISE president asked for volunteers and the time spent there would be exchanged for extra credit in my environmental science class with Dr. Bell. I may even continue on with it after classes are done as a permanent tutoring volunteer. It’s been very rewarding indeed because, whether they see me when I first walk in the gate or they spot me from across the courtyard, you can hear them shout ‘Ziba!’”