Guidelines

HOUSE OF HOPE FOR WOMEN GUIDELINES

*Guidelines are for the safety of the houseguest and to help them progress through the program to reach their desired goals.

Ministry Benefits and Privileges: 

• House of Hope charges no housing rent or fees.  
• House of Hope charges no fee for laundry equipment use.
• House of Hope charges no fee for utilities (gas, electricity, water, or garbage).
• House of Hope will provide initial basic clothing needs new or second hand as needed.

Home Security: 

• Houseguest will be assigned a personal entrance code for the home which is not permitted to be shared with anyone.
• Houseguest is responsible for keeping the exterior door locked at all times. 
• Houseguest is responsible for following visitor policy to ensure safety for themselves.
• Houseguest will be required to train in fire safety and disaster evacuation procedures provided by House directors.
• Houseguest is responsible for calling 911 first in all emergency situations such as unauthorized people on House of Hope property, breaking and entering, theft, fire, accidents, etc. 
• Houseguest must ask permission to share House of Hope address with anyone before sharing.

Damage of House of Hope Property: 

• All cost pertaining to the fixing and purchase of materials for House of Hope personal property due to negligence of the houseguest will be the responsibility of the houseguest. 
• All contracted services for repairs will be handled by House of Hope. 

Resident Personal Property: 

• House directors must approve all personal items that accompany the houseguest.  
• Any loss of personal property is not the responsibility of House of Hope.
• Personal property not approved of by House directors must be stored at the houseguest’s expense off House of Hope property. 
• Insurance of personal property is the responsibility of the houseguest. 
• Legal counsel, prosecution, and cost concerning the theft of a houseguest’s personal property 
  will be the houseguest’s responsibility. 
• In order to keep property free of bugs upon arrival, houseguest will be provided a change of clean clothing. All clothing will be heat treated in the dryer. Other items will be assessed and screened for acceptance.

Medical: 

• All medical care for the houseguest, family and payment for received care is the responsibility of the houseguest. Guidance will be given as needed.
• All required school physicals are the responsibility of the houseguest.  
• A full disclosure of all houseguest health risks’ must be made available to House of Hope at the time 
  of the houseguest’s application. 
• Cost of houseguest periodic drug testing will the responsibility of House of Hope. 
• It is the responsibility of the houseguest to care for all their medical emergencies including calling 911 if needed.
• Houseguest will agree to share any self-harm behaviors such as cutting, burning, depriving self of food or purging food, etc.
• Houseguest will agree to share any thoughts of suicide with house directors that occurs while participating in the House of Hope program.

Visits:  

• All visitors, family and nonfamily must be approved by house directors and be on the visitor 
  list two weeks prior to the visit. 
• All male visitors must be interviewed by a minister prior to being on the visitor list.
• Visitors are only allowed during times when House directors are home unless approved by House directors.
• All visitors must sign the sign in/out sheet.
• At the appropriate time in the program, houseguests are allowed visitors and leaving House of Hope for the day & must be approved by house directors. 
• Houseguests will be responsible for the cost of all visitor background checks.  Visitor background checks will occur at house director’s discretion. 
• House of Hope will provide a common area for visitation.
• House directors must meet and approve all friends and family that houseguest will be interacting with outside of House of Hope property prior to event.

Curfew: 

• Houseguest curfew during weekdays is 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weekends unless agreed upon by House directors. 
• Children’s bedtimes are to be consistent with good sleep patterns pertaining to child development.
• Abuse of curfew will result in tighter restrictions until the issue is resolved.  
• Quiet hours will be observed from 11 pm to 7 am. This includes no loud music, media, voices or kitchen noises (this does not include children’s crying).
• When leaving the property, houseguest will use sign in/out procedure which includes communicating location, with whom, stops, changes and expected return time.

Cell Phones and Social Media: 

• Cell phone and social media use will be discussed and approved per houseguest by House directors.
• Houseguest will agree to technology guidelines which include having safety filter install on phone/device.
• Social media posts concerning the houseguest’s interactions with House directors, volunteers or board members is prohibited. 

Vacations and Emergency Travel: 

• All houseguest vacations or weekends away must be approved by House directors one week prior to the vacation. Valid information will be required. 
• Houseguest must fill out a vacation form with travel information. 
• Emergencies (family or friend deaths or accidents) that require unexpected travel require a 24 hour notice to House directors of the houseguest’s location.

Hygiene: 

• House directors and houseguest will work together to create a personal eating, stress, exercise and sleep plan for houseguest. Houseguest will follow plan as agreed upon.
• Houseguest will perform good hygiene practices, including shower at least every other day.

Child Care: 

• All houseguest child care is the responsibility of the mother. Arrangements (background checks and
  financial) for child care is the responsibility of the mother.  Suggestions for child care will be provided as needed.
• All houseguest child discipline will be implemented by the houseguest as learned in parenting classes. 
• Houseguest is responsible for the respectful behavior of her children when interacting with others with the support and input from House directors.
• Children are expected to sleep in their own room and bed.

House Duties: 

• Cleaning duties will be done by houseguest according to the established house care guidelines.  
•  Initial instructions and expectations will be given as well as weekly checks and additional training as needed.
• Houseguest will be responsible for their own messes, garbage, and laundry.  
• All eating must be done in the kitchen.

Education and Employment:  

• House directors will establish goals concerning education and employment for each 
  houseguest based on individual circumstances. Employment and education are key 
  components of the transition process and will be part of a houseguest’s progress check.  
• If GED is needed, tutoring will be provided. Cost of obtaining GED will be covered by House of Hope.
• Houseguest is expected to make diligent effort to start a job within one month of arriving to House of Hope.
• While employment is an important part of the House of Hope program, all mentoring, counseling, bible studies, church services and life skills training will be a priority over work. Houseguest is not permitted to work more than 32 hours a week.

Financial:

• Houseguest with the help of a financial planner, will set a realistic budget for the purpose of debt reduction, educational needs, and savings which are all key components of the transition process.
• Because House of Hope charges no fees to the houseguest concerning food, shelter, and clothing, the expectation will be all purchases above agreed upon budget are approved by House of Hope financial planner. 
• All external financial aid must be approved by House of Hope financial planner.
• Direct donations (financial and items) to the houseguest must be reported to house directors when received for accountability.

Transportation:

• Houseguest will be required to have or obtain a valid Illinois driver’s license. Exceptions need to be approved by House directors.
• Houseguest will be required to maintain a good driving record. Houseguest is expected to follow all traffic laws including not using phone while driving. If traffic laws are violated, this results in losing driving privileges determined by house directors.
• Houseguest will be required to have and show evidence of current car insurance.
• House of Hope will provide limited transportation for houseguests according to availability/feasibility and in the case of no reliable transportation.

Personal Conduct:

• No alcohol, swearing, pornography or witch craft is allowed anywhere on House of Hope property.
• No smoking inside the buildings.
• No music with foul language or degrading lyrics.
• No violent or scary movies.
• Houseguest will participate in random drug tests.
• Houseguest’s clothing needs to be clean and modest at all times.
• Tops should reach at least to the waist
• Pants should be comfortably loose fitting
• Shorts should pass the fingertip test (length no shorter than tip of middle finger by your side)
• Undergarments not visible under clothing
• Necklines should cover cleavage
• Sheer fabric should have a lining or additional clothing to cover your body
• Skirts should be knee length or longer
• Dress appropriately for the occasion
• Please wear a skirt or dress when going to church (dress appropriate for the occasion).

Solid Foundation Training: 

• Attend weekly bible study/church services
• Mentoring with House directors– 2-3x per week during open times
• And possibly include any or all of the following:
• Mentoring with father figure -via phone call/in person in public area (Pray together, discuss challenges/achievements, affirmation)
• Conflict Resolution/Effective Communication
• Anger Management
• Parenting classes
• Counseling
• Meal Planning
• Financial counseling
• All homework/bible studies must be done prior to class/training.

Community Service: 

• Serving others is a core value of House of Hope. Houseguest will be expected to donate four hours of personal time per month to the community. This expectation will be implemented according to houseguest circumstances and progress with goals.

Cause for Loss of Residency:  

•Note: House directors reserves the right in determining the length of time to which the evicted houseguest has to vacate House of Hope premises based on the severity of the violation.

• Physical aggression towards House directors or other House of Hope house guests/volunteers.  
• Repeated House of Hope guideline violations. 
• Allowing unauthorized or unapproved guest access to House of Hope property inside and out. 
• Alcohol and illegal drug use found through random drug testing, paraphernalia or personal observation by House directors. 
• Failure to progress towards goals.
• Getting arrested or being charged with criminal activity.
• Refusing drug test
• Sharing House of Hope address with non-approved people
• Misconduct of medications
• Removing or tampering with phone filter

Residency: 

• Residency is dependent on the progress of the houseguest towards the set goals for transition. House directors will partner with houseguest to help them achieve their transitional goals. 
• Full time residency will be granted or declined based on a first 30 day evaluation. If the house guest is granted full time residency, the maximum stay is one year.
• Houseguest progress checks will be done every 30 day.  These will be used to give the houseguest 
  personal feedback concerning transition, expectations and goals.
• In the unfortunate case where a houseguest is declined residency, it will be at the discretion of the 
  board of directors on a case by case basis. Timeline for vacating the premises both personally 
  and personal belongings will be determined by House directors.
• Residency exceptions above one year will be considered by House directors if there is an achievable added value to the houseguest to fully succeed with transition. 

• In addition to the above expectations, full time residency is also dependent on good personal and 
  family health habits, house cleanliness, honesty, integrity, and positive respectful interaction with 
  House directors and volunteers. House of Hope desires a willing partnership with its 
  houseguest for achieving its mission and ministry focus. 
• All guidelines are subject to change based on board of director’s decisions. Changes will be communicated with houseguest prior to implementations.

[Updated 7/15/21]