Village of Hope Inc

Located in Salisbury, Maryland, the Village of Hope (VOH) is a not-for-profit, non-denominational 501(c)(3) organization that provides a transitional living program and home for at-risk women and children in Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties. The Village of Hope works with participants and their families to build skills and abilities that will empower them to lead self-sufficient, productive lives.   Women accepted into our Steps to Success Transitional Living program come from all walks of life. Often, they are caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of homelessness, domestic violence, and financial deprivation. Our program offers up to two years of residency in one of 14 fully furnished apartments located in the Village of Hope Residential Building. Our Mission is "to promote self-sufficiency and to improve the quality of life among at-risk women and children"

A Five Step Pathway is used as the foundation for the Steps to Success program. The five components of the pathway are: Mental/Physical Health, Gainful Employment/Improved Job Status, Financial Stability/Literacy, Legal Issue Resolution, and finally, Stable Independent Housing. Participants who are accepted into the program enter at varying stages of risk and instability. However, it has been determined that this Five-Step Pathway addresses the most critical areas that have contributed to their circumstances and the areas needing the most improvement upon entry.  VOH provides individualized case management weekly, as well as mental health counseling, free transportation to work, school, medical appointments, job interviews, and experiential activities. In addition, we provide training and workshops to participants, educating them on a variety of topics including financial literacy and budgeting, job readiness and interviewing, healthy eating, stress management, parenting, and self-esteem.  Our ultimate goal at VOH is to maximize a participant's chances of achieving their short- and long-term goals, allowing them to become productive members of society.

In addition to the Steps to Success program offered at VOH, our children in residence have the opportunity to participate in the “Empowering Children’s Project.” This project provides children in residence with academic support to assist them in subject areas that need improvement as well as on-campus activities, and off-campus experiential adventures to improve their social and interpersonal skills.  The VOH Empowering Children’s Project Coordinator supervises the program and works directly with our participant mothers and children to provide academic support and creative parent-child bonding experiences.  Report cards are reviewed each marking period and the academic performance of each school-aged child is evaluated.  At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, all children in residence were promoted to the next grade level and had improved in their core subject areas. In the first half of the 2022 school year, the 12 school-aged children in residence maintained or improved their grades and several received special academic awards!

Village of Hope is widely recognized as an outstanding Delmarva charity. We are proud to serve the Lower Eastern Shore and welcome you to get involved!