March 15, 2025 • 29 mins
Nestled on 42 acres in Purvis, Mississippi, Homes of Hope stands as a beacon of possibility for vulnerable children across the state. In this deeply moving conversation, Executive Director Dr. Scott Hanberry reveals how this unique residential ministry is transforming lives by providing much more than shelter – they're cultivating genuine hope.
Unlike traditional institutional settings, Homes of Hope creates actual family environments where children live in single-family homes with dedicated house parents who provide stability, safety, and unconditional love. "We serve at-risk children from all over Mississippi and their families," Hanberry explains, emphasizing that family reunification remains a priority whenever possible.
Using trust-based relational intervention, staff help children move from a constant state of fight-or-flight into a place where healing and growth become possible. As Hanberry poignantly notes, "Hope is thinking of the future, and many of these kids come in a state of survival."
What sets this ministry apart is its holistic approach to development. From gardens and chickens that teach responsibility to innovative partnerships with local universities for tutoring, every aspect of campus life serves a deeper purpose. Even recreational spaces like their new fire pit facilitate healing conversations, which Hanberry describes as "therapy we couldn't pay for."
The most powerful moments come through success stories – a young woman with undiagnosed dyslexia now thriving in college, house parents gifting a minivan to help reunite a family, and teenagers recognizing their time at Homes of Hope not as an obstacle but as "a springboard into successful adult life."
Ready to make a difference? Discover how you can Pray, Provide resources, or Participate directly in this transformative work. As Hanberry reminds us, "We're not all called to be foster parents, but we're all called to do something."
To learn more about Homes of Hope or to arrange a tour, call 769-456-7021 or email Scott at Scott@HomesOfHope.ms.
Relevant scripture: James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When you need some hope and inspiration to build
collaboration.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Hope Mississippi is your salvation One in four kids
live in poverty.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
One in five are food deprived.
Build collaborations and buildhope with those who are
struggling.
Build collaborations and buildhope with those who are
struggling.
Hope Mississippi.
Hello and welcome to HopeMississippi.
(00:39):
I'm Dawn Beam and I host thistwice a month.
And'm so glad that you'vechosen to join us today.
Today we have Dr Scott Hanburywith us, who is the Executive
Director of Homes of Hope.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And, if it's all right with you, I'm just going
to call you Scott and you'regoing to call me Dawn.
Okay, Dawn, that's wonderful.
Thanks so much for having me on.
Great.
Tell us what is.
Homes of Hope, Sure.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, the short answer is that it's a ministry,
but it is a residentialchildren's home and we serve
at-risk children from all overthe state of Mississippi and
their families.
That's conceptually.
What is it physically?
It is a 42-acre campus inPurvis, Mississippi, and there,
on that beautiful campus, wehave single-family homes and we
(01:28):
bring in kids that come out ofcrisis situations of no fault of
their own, just because of thefamily circumstance, and we
offer them stability, safety andjust a place to heal and to
experience hope.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And you know, you never know when someone you know
may need the service of Homesof Hope.
I'm reminded a little child inour neighborhood.
A grandmother could notphysically take care of her and
I just mentioned Homes of Hopeto her and it has been such a
blessing to that family.
So you just never know whoyou're going to be able to help.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Absolutely, and so many people have preconceived
ideas.
You know they ask is it anorphanage, is it an institution?
And it's not.
When they come on our campus Ithink most folks are blown away
at how inviting and what a homefeel it is.
But we take kids from fouruntil 17.
And then we actually have kidsthat will stay.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
They'll move out of the cottage into an apartment
and go to college.
We're helping them with thatand just a springboard into
successful life.
You know that transition is soimportant.
The studies are not good forfoster children in particular
transitioning out of foster careinto the real world, and
they're more likely to have drugand alcohol problems, end up in
prison and early death, and soit's just important that really
the Christian community inparticular because that's what
(02:51):
we're talking about, this is afaith-based organization reaches
out.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe mission of Homes of Hope,
sure.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Well, again, we serve at-risk children and families
throughout the state ofMississippi by providing
basically a stable home and wetry to focus on four areas.
Obviously, we want to meettheir physical needs.
We want to make sure that theyhave food and shelter and
clothing and those kinds ofthings.
And then emotional needs wewant to make sure that we're
helping with therapeutic care,just with counseling, that kind
(03:20):
of thing.
Obviously, spiritual help hopeis predicated on the promises of
God and the future.
You know, we can put our hopein a lot of things with our
fingers crossed, but we wantthem to know that there's a
foundation of real hope.
And then, obviously, theiracademic needs, and so we just
provide all of those wraparoundfocused services where these
(03:40):
Christian parents love on themand the mission is to serve
those kids and to instill hopein their lives.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Absolutely.
They're houses they actuallyhave.
The kids have their ownbedrooms and a great room where
they all come together and eatas well as watch television, so
you really want them to feellike they are at home.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Absolutely.
We want to provide a home-likeenvironment and when possible we
want to reunify families.
We want to provide a home-likeenvironment and when possible we
want to reunify families.
We want to help them get backtogether so we don't say we
serve just children, we servechildren and families.
But while they're in our carewe want them to experience the
best of what home life could andshould be.
And so those parents dodevotionals.
They cook breakfast and lunchand dinner during the obviously
(04:24):
the summer months, that kind ofthing.
They eat lunches at school.
They all go to get on theschool bus and go to public
school, and so it is a home-likeenvironment.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That is wonderful.
Tell us a little bit about thekids.
Where do they come from?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
They come from a variety of places.
We do have CPS referrals, soChild Protective Services in
Mississippi.
Maybe they don't have a fosterhome immediately.
They could take a sibling group.
Or maybe they're olderteenagers and sometimes foster
families want younger children,so we take them.
We also will have schoolcounselors or pastors or youth
(04:57):
ministers or, like you said,just a neighbor that sees a
family that's struggling,they're in crisis and because of
that they come our way and wewalk through a process of intake
and see if they're a good fitand see if we're a good fit to
serve them.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely.
I, as a judge and lawyer, foryears have worked with kids that
have gone through trauma in thehome and I know that many of
the folk that come in there theyoung kids.
They've been through a varietyof stresses in their life.
What efforts do you do to tryto help them to deal with that
trauma and to overcome that?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, I'm so glad you're asking that question.
Every kid that is there hasexperienced trauma.
Sometimes we think of trauma asbeing abuse or neglect or
abandonment, but just beingremoved from your home is
traumatic, you know.
Moving for anybody is just atraumatic event, and so we
really focus on building trust.
We do trauma-informed care.
(05:51):
We call it trust-basedrelational intervention is kind
of the model that we follow.
There's a lot of scientificresearch about it, but basically
just building trust, meetingtheir needs, and then it creates
an environment where they'recomfortable, where you can
correct behavior and makeconnections with them, and it
makes all the difference in theworld.
Really, through empoweringstrategies like meeting their
(06:14):
physical needs, you know whenthey feel safe they can begin to
relax.
When they trust you, they'llreceive correction better and
then from there the healingprocess takes place Right.
We want to grow healthychildren that end up being
productive adults, and then fromthere the healing process takes
place Right.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We want to grow healthy children that end up
being productive adults, and sopart of that is helping them to
overcome that trauma.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, they so many times are living in fight or
flight all the time.
It's almost like living in aconstant state of stress.
One of the things that we say Idon't want to drift off topic,
but one of the things we say isfor these house parents,
oftentimes dealing with kidsthat have come out of trauma is
much like going to a movie anhour late and then trying to
(06:54):
figure out the rest of the movieand we don't know all that
they've endured.
And so we want to meet themwhere they are relationally and
love them forward into hope.
Because if you're in fight orflight, hope's not even on the
radar.
You know, hope is thinking ofthe future and many of these
kids come and they're in just astate of survival in their own
(07:15):
hearts and minds.
And if you can help them relaxthrough that, get the
therapeutic care that they need,love on them, counsel them,
encourage them, all of a suddenthey can begin to dream about
the future.
So what we like to say is,every single day we're sowing
seeds of hope.
God ultimately gives theincrease.
He'll put that hope in theirheart, but we're just constantly
sowing seeds.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
That is so exciting.
Before you came to Homes ofHope, you have a family and you
actually live out there on thecampus.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
We do, we do.
My wife, stephanie, and I havethree daughters and two of them
are grown and we have onegrandson I got to get that in,
got to mention him we have ouryoungest daughter is a freshman
in college, but Stephanie and Ihave been in pastoral ministry
for the last 36 years.
I've pastored churches my wholeadult life and career.
That was my calling and ourcalling to Homes of Hope really
(08:07):
was dovetailed by that.
Because the board said we don'tneed a CEO, we need a shepherd.
And I said, well, I can do that.
And as God really steered usthat direction, we ended up
selling our house and we movedinto an apartment on campus.
We're all in.
We traded a congregation in achurch setting for a smaller
congregation with deep, deepneeds, but we absolutely love it
(08:29):
.
We're more fulfilled inministry right now perhaps than
ever in our lives.
Our family loves it.
Our kids have just beenoverwhelmed.
Coming back for Thanksgivingand Christmas and being on
campus with all of the biggercommunity of Homes of Hope has
been a blast.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I was recently asked to serve on the board of Homes
of Hope and have just beenamazed by all the great things
going on, lots of changes goingon.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the changes that are going
on at Homes of Hope?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Well, it's pretty amazing to see the things that
God's doing and has done.
Just I've been there a yearalmost and we just literally
have to give him all the creditand all the glory.
We started with an emphasis onspiritual growth.
We just re-established, we'regoing to get the house parents
together every week for prayerand for discipleship.
We're going to encourage them,and I began to see that if we
(09:20):
can keep our house parentshealthy spiritually, everything
else flows right.
If they're in a state ofdistress or dealing with
marriage issues or otherwise,then everything falls apart, and
very quickly too.
Those kids can.
It's kind of like sharks withblood in the water they quickly
frenzy, but when the parents arecalm and regulated.
We've hired two new sets ofhouse parents, and so that was
(09:42):
encouraging.
We renovated one of thecottages and started filling it
up with new kids.
We contracted with ForestGeneral Health and provided
counseling at no charge to allof our staff.
We wanted them to have a placewhere they could go and vent, a
place where they could go andshare, and so that was a big
deal.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Being that parent is really a calling too.
You talked about how you andyour wife.
That's a calling, but thosefolks that are serving as those
house parents are really beingGod's hands and feet.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Without a doubt.
We say that they aremissionaries.
Really they're commissionedinto that work as missionaries
because they are serving in avery unique cultural experience
and they're reaching acrosscultural lines to meet the needs
of these kids.
More about the changes.
One of the fun things thathappened is last year we planted
(10:32):
a garden and I think the housedads were a little stir crazy
over the winter and so theyplowed up about half of Lamar
County.
They planted everything theyplowed so we had vegetables
running out of our ears and wegot chickens on campus and the
kids helped be a part of all ofthat.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
With the price of eggs, it's good you got some
chickens.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
That was an amazing investment, I tell you, it's
like gold.
We're getting a lot of eggs andthe kids we made it part of
their summer curriculum so wetaught them about how to plant
and how to tend to the gardenand then they learn life skills.
We've had Sunday school classesladies that have come and
helped them jar and can and cook.
(11:13):
It's just been a lot of fun.
All of those things havechanged drastically the culture
of the campus.
So many kids these days areface down in a device and they
don't talk to each other andthey don't have good
communication skills because ofthat.
We set those things down andthey started looking up and
that's more than physical.
It's a metaphor for wherethey're going.
(11:33):
You know, they see hope inthose chickens, they see hope in
that garden because their workpays off.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Now, as I recall from the board meeting recently,
you're going to be havingproduce and eggs available for
local Lamar County folks to comeby right.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
We are.
One of the things that we wantto do is change the narrative of
what people think.
They see this campus with a biggate and they don't know what
it is.
Is it a subdivision or is it acompound?
Well, we want to invite peopleonto the campus.
So we're starting a farmer'smarket and at this year's garden
we're planting flower gardensas well.
So we want people to come andtake pictures on the campus.
(12:11):
We want people to come and buycut flowers or get eggs or
produce, but, more than anything, just become familiar with what
we do.
Obviously, we protect theresidents.
We want to protect their space.
It's their home, but there'senough public space that we can
invite people on.
And I want people to recognizethat Homes of Hope is a part of
(12:32):
our community that we can beproud of.
It's not for throwaway children.
It's not, again, an orphanage.
This is a place that helps.
It's a place of healing, aplace of hope.
Somebody asked me early on isHomes of Hope the kind of place,
scott, that you would send yourown children if your family was
in crisis?
And they said don't answer it?
Yet they said evaluate it andif it's not, make it that place.
(12:57):
And so that's what we'reworking toward every day.
It's the kind of place that myfriends, if they had struggles,
they could say you know what Iknow?
A great place where that childcould get some healing and some
help place where that childcould get some healing and some
help.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
That thought occurs to me just in the work that I
have done at Youth Corps is thatnot all of the kids that need a
third party to take care ofthem come from necessarily a
background of drugs and alcohol.
Sometimes it's just badunfortunate luck or poor health
of an individual that reallyrequires that they call on a
third party because they don'thave the family to fall back on.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Absolutely, and we've seen that you know, maybe a
cancer diagnosis and they gothrough a long illness and that
prolonged illness leads the kidsto living with grandmothers and
aunts and the loss of a job,and so it's not necessarily
abandonment or neglect or abuse.
It may be really good parentsthat are just struggling in bad
circumstances and we can providea place of respite and be a
(13:56):
resource and again, hopefully,help the parents as well with
life skills.
That would get them a betterjob, get them reunited.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
You know, I think back when I was growing up, my
mom and daddy used to make usget up early on Saturday morning
or whatever, and go pick peasor butter beans.
But what you're really doing isnot just resulting in a crop
being picked, but you'reteaching kids about the
importance of hard work andthere's no price tag you can put
(14:25):
on that.
It's so important.
How can other folks help?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Well, dawn, you said right off the bat that I am a
pastor at heart, so I'm going togive you three points, and they
all start with the letter P.
Three points in a poem Pray,provide and participate.
So literally, the very firstthing you can do for us is to
pray Pray for the house, parents, pray for the children, pray
for the state of Mississippi,for parents and for the system,
(14:51):
pray for social workers andjudges and all those people that
are involved in the lives ofkids.
So we would ask you to do that.
You can go to our website,homesofhopems, and download a
prayer card.
That's there.
I'd love for people to do that,and it'll just give some
prompts for them to pray forspecific things.
Secondly is provide.
Obviously, we need finances.
(15:12):
We don't start there.
We ask people to pray sincerelybecause we believe God's our
resource.
People can donate.
We're privately funded, and sowe have churches, individuals,
businesses, families that giveregularly and recurringly, and
that is huge.
People can also provide.
We have different supply needs,oftentimes paper goods or food
(15:33):
list.
We have a grocery store oncampus, and so if you've got
seven kids that you're caringfor, going to the grocery store
is an ordeal.
We have a food services managerthat helps us and we put
together things there, butnon-perishable food items.
Oftentimes we'll do lists andhave a drive and you can find
that on our website as well.
(15:53):
And then ultimately we sayparticipate.
There's two or three veryobvious ways people can
volunteer.
We have 42 acres of land and soif we have people that like to
mow grass, we've got lawn mowersand they can come, because you
can just about hear it growingAbout the time we finish it's
time to start over, so itconstantly needs help.
(16:15):
But we also get people to comeand tutor.
We've had ladies that have comeand they've done classes on art
or on sewing or smocking,cooking, tutoring.
There's just a wide variety ofthings that people can do and it
expands the horizon of thesekids when they have
opportunities to learn things.
They're pretty unique because alot of those things you know I
(16:37):
certainly didn't have peoplecoming to my house and doing
special classes when I was a kid, but it really is special when
people in the community getinvolved.
One serious way that they canpeople may not feel called to do
full-time fostering, they maynot be able to, but they can
become resource parents and wehave people that go through a
vetting process and they gothrough training and they get to
(17:00):
know the kids as they volunteerand oftentimes they'll come and
they can take a child for aweekend.
They can take them to the mallor to a movie and invest time in
those kids.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
That sounds wonderful .
I'm reminded that you also havecontacts with the universities
in the area.
We're so blessed to have twolarge universities in the Pine
Belt area.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Absolutely.
I met in fact this past weekwith Dr Joe Paul and with Dr Ben
Burnett at both of ouruniversities and they've made
available to us placementopportunities.
So the School of Social Workwill be placing students that
need to get intern hours on ourcampus.
The schools of education ofboth are sending tutors.
We have upper-level mathclasses that I certainly can't
(17:44):
tutor.
They get into calculus andchemistry and some of the
sciences and I can't help.
But we've got honor studentsfrom William Carey that are
coming and tutoring one-on-onewith our kids and it's just such
a blessing, it's a win-win.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Judge one time told me your greatest joy will come
in serving others, and that's sotrue.
It's a blessing to the kidsthat are there for the students
to come, but I've got a feelingthat those students are learning
a lot just going out there andhelping the kids.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
It really is much more blessed to give than to
receive and you get more out ofserving than a lot of times you
put in.
And they've said that over andover again.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
And you kind of hit the nail on the head.
I say we're not all called tobe foster parents, but we're all
called to do something.
So you encourage folks to comeout to Homes of Hope and just
see what they might be able todo right.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
We do.
They can come and take a tour.
We would love to just heartheir heart for the gifts and
the abilities they have and wemay discover something we
haven't even thought of thatsomebody wants to do.
If somebody wanted to come andwork in the garden with us, they
could do that, and we havepeople that obviously have those
skills and that passion andthey can come and help.
So, yes, we would love for themto come and visit.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Now, last I was out there there was this cool fire
pit and swings and things.
I think Economy Supply helpedyou put that out there.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
They did.
We went on a mission trip toEast Tennessee last fall.
We saw one of these fire pits.
It was just a big arbor withswings on it and we came back
and the kids said, could we getone of those together?
And so we started working withsome local contractors and
economy supply and CotterayConstruction.
Some others helped us put thatthing together and it may be the
most popular place on campus.
(19:25):
Every night it seems there areparents or kids that are out
there swinging and just enjoyingbeing together.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
You know I'm reminded in studies of overcoming trauma
.
The ability to just sit aroundand talk is so important, and so
that area.
Yes, it's fun, but it also letsfolks come out there and visit
and unpack all that they've gonethrough.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
We've said that that fire pit is therapy we couldn't
pay for, you know, because itreally does break down walls and
immediately it breaks downdefenses and people just begin
to open up their hearts andshare with each other.
A lot of tears are shed aroundthat place, but they're healing
tears, it's good.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And so folks that can build things.
You just never know how youmight be a blessing.
You don't necessarily have tobe a house parent.
There are lots of ways that youcan give.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe future of Homes of Hope.
I know we've got several housesout there.
Do you have any vision of thenext step and where we might go?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
We absolutely do.
We're working on a master planwith our board.
In our next meeting We'llreally spend some time talking
about that.
The next two buildings oncampus that we want to do one is
an open-air pavilion that couldbe used for all kinds of
different things, butparticularly for our farmer's
market, and then a chapel.
We want to build a chapel oncampus, not to have church there
the house families go to churchtogether but we want to do
(20:54):
discipleship.
We've talked about doing Biblestudies, a place to gather and
pray, a place to do lots ofdifferent things from a
spiritual learning experience,and so we want a chapel just
right in the heart of campus.
But we also have plans forbuilding additional cottages,
expanding the ministry andreaching more and more kids and
doing all that we can to helpthere.
(21:14):
And so, yeah, on the 42 acres,the overall master plan is just
to continue to expand and toreach as many kids as we can and
to sow as many seeds of hope aswe can.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I love that.
Now let's talk about some hopestories.
I know I've heard you tell afew and they bring me to tears,
and so just tell us a few, anidea of just how God is working
at Homes of Hope.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
A couple come to mind .
Almost every time I start totalk about it I do cry and my
kids have said Dad, you'regetting leaky in your old age.
You know your eyes are oftenfilled with tears.
We have a young girl that's incollege right now.
She is in one of the apartments.
Her story is amazing.
She had been really far behindin school because she had
(22:04):
undiagnosed dyslexia.
They were able to get herspecific help and here's the
quote she said when I got here Istruggled with confidence, I
struggled to read, and now Ican't put books down and I just
love that.
She is confident and she'sgrowing and stepping onto a
college campus has just beenamazing for her.
(22:24):
We have another family thatwe've been working with to
regain custody of their son.
In the middle of that there wasjust a lot of struggle.
They were still just wrestlingthrough some things.
They said we can't afford tofile to regain custody and so we
worked it out with the localattorney to file on their behalf
pro bono, and so we're workingthrough that process.
(22:47):
Well, the dad called and histruck engine had blown up and he
said no judge in the world isgoing to let us have him back if
we can't safely get him toschool and to the doctor or I
can't go to work.
And one of our house parentstook time to look for solutions
and they had a minivan in theirextended family that they
(23:08):
brought back and they put newtires on it and they fixed it up
and they cleaned it up and theywere going to give it to the
family.
Well, they did, but before theydid, it was parked at their
cottage for about a week andthere were a couple of times
that that young man was justsitting out there in that van
and when they found that, theyrealized that this is more than
transportation.
It's hope.
It's a picture of hope to him.
(23:29):
This is an opportunity for hisfamily to get back together and
that's what we want.
I say that not all heroes wearcapes.
Well, our house parents aresuperheroes.
That's the kind of heart thesepeople have.
They just want to help the kidsin whatever way they can.
There's a lot of misinformationabout a place like ours.
People think, well, they'regoing to get money for every kid
(23:50):
that comes, so they just wantmore kids.
No, we actually reduce thetotal census of kids so that we
could care deeply about the onesthat are there.
We want to make a realdifference.
We don't want to just bebabysitting, we don't want to
just be moving them forward.
Like you said, if they're nottransitioning well, then there's
a lot of risky behaviors andeven a lot of danger ahead in
(24:12):
their future, and we want to setthem up as a springboard for
success.
One more We've talked a lotwith our juniors and seniors,
the older kids, and one of themsaid basically these words I'm
paraphrasing, but I could lookat my time at Homes of Hope as
an obstacle.
(24:34):
Just say you know, I was dealt abad hand in life and I had to
go to this children's homeBecause of that.
I would have a ready-madeexcuse for the rest of my life
to say, well, this is why Ican't.
Or I could look at this as anopportunity and say, instead of
I had to go, they say I got togo to the homes of hope and
while I was there, god gave mean incredible opportunity to
learn responsibility and hardwork.
(24:56):
And now, instead of an obstacle, it's an opportunity to be a
springboard into successfuladult life and I just love that.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Absolutely.
We want to grow healthy kids.
God blesses us, so then we canbe a blessing to others.
And I think that's just soimportant for us to remember Now
.
The campus itself.
Folks can come out there andvisit that.
How would one get engaged inhelping at Homes of Hope?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Well, the best way is not for them just to come and
knock on the front door, on thegate.
They certainly can drive ontocampus, push the call button and
come to the office, which isdirectly in the front.
But if they called the officeand I can leave the number, we
can probably leave that in theshow notes, I guess, of your
podcast, but it's 769-456-7021.
(25:46):
Or if they just want to emailme, it's scott at homesofhopems
and I would love for them toemail me directly.
We can line up a time for themto come and tour.
Again, we can just spend timetalking to them.
We bring a lot of folks outduring the school year during
the day, and that way we don'thave to go through all of the.
You know the rigor ofbackground.
(26:06):
It just creates safety andspace for them.
They can tour a cottage.
Kids are at school and they canmeet house parents.
The house parents work duringthe day right there.
That's their full-time job andso they can come and meet the
house parents.
We can find out what gifts,abilities and passions they have
and maybe find a place tovolunteer.
So yeah, so they can call us oremail us and we'd love to
(26:29):
connect.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Now you also are available to talk to churches.
You're still a preacher right.
So I come from a long line ofpreachers.
I know you're always willing tostep into a pulpit when you're
a preacher, so you haveavailability for churches and
you go and share with them.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I do, I've spoken in a lot of churches.
We invite Sunday school classesand small groups onto the
campus and we'll provide lunchfor them if they do that.
But yeah, I preach in civicorganizations Rotary and Kiwanis
and that kind of thing and sothese days I'm preaching in a
lot of different places and atsome level I'm preaching more
now than I did before as apastor, because I'm preaching
(27:08):
three and four times a week.
When I start doing thingsduring the week revivals and
that kind of thing, but alsosharing the story of Homes of
Hope so it's a blast.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
It's important that we remember these are our kids.
These kids are Mississippi kids.
God calls us to take care ofchildren in particular right,
absolutely, absolutely Well.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
In fact, it says there in James that real true
religion is to meet the needs oforphans and widows in their
time of distress.
And so we want to take care ofthe vulnerable.
We want to be a voice for thevoiceless, we want to be
stability for those that are atrisk.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I love that verse that talks about when we do it
unto the least of these.
It's as though we did it toChrist, and so that's how I
think of Homes of Hope that wereally are being God's hands and
feet to love on these kids andmake a difference.
I'm very blessed to be a partof the board.
I can't wait to see all thegreat things that are going to
(28:04):
be accomplished under yourleadership.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Thank you.
We are overwhelmingly honoredto have you on the board with us
and serving with your expertiseand your experience, but also
just your heart, for these kidsand for the state of Mississippi
.
And you and I share a commonpassion to see hope rise.
We want to see kids that seethe future bright.
The windshield is bigger thanthe rearview mirror and we want
them to see that way.
(28:28):
We want them to look forwardwith an anticipation that
there's hope ahead.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So there you have it, folks, you can pray for Homes
of Hope, you can participate andyou can provide the three Ps.
The Good Baptist, on hearingthis, will appreciate the three
Ps.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Well, thanks so much.
Y'all have a great day.
Thanks for joining me, scott.
Thank you so much.
Y'all have a great day, thanksfor joining me, Scott.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Thank you so much when you need some hope and
inspiration To buildcollaboration.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Hope Mississippi is your salvation.
Hope Mississippi.
When you need some hope and inspiration to build
collaboration.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Hope Mississippi is your salvation One in four kids
live in poverty.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
One in five are food deprived.
Build collaborations and buildhope with those who are
struggling.
Build collaborations and buildhope with those who are
struggling.
Hope Mississippi.
Hello and welcome to HopeMississippi.
(00:39):
I'm Dawn Beam and I host thistwice a month.
And'm so glad that you'vechosen to join us today.
Today we have Dr Scott Hanburywith us, who is the Executive
Director of Homes of Hope.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And, if it's all right with you, I'm just going
to call you Scott and you'regoing to call me Dawn.
Okay, Dawn, that's wonderful.
Thanks so much for having me on.
Great.
Tell us what is.
Homes of Hope, Sure.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, the short answer is that it's a ministry,
but it is a residentialchildren's home and we serve
at-risk children from all overthe state of Mississippi and
their families.
That's conceptually.
What is it physically?
It is a 42-acre campus inPurvis, Mississippi, and there,
on that beautiful campus, wehave single-family homes and we
(01:28):
bring in kids that come out ofcrisis situations of no fault of
their own, just because of thefamily circumstance, and we
offer them stability, safety andjust a place to heal and to
experience hope.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And you know, you never know when someone you know
may need the service of Homesof Hope.
I'm reminded a little child inour neighborhood.
A grandmother could notphysically take care of her and
I just mentioned Homes of Hopeto her and it has been such a
blessing to that family.
So you just never know whoyou're going to be able to help.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Absolutely, and so many people have preconceived
ideas.
You know they ask is it anorphanage, is it an institution?
And it's not.
When they come on our campus Ithink most folks are blown away
at how inviting and what a homefeel it is.
But we take kids from fouruntil 17.
And then we actually have kidsthat will stay.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
They'll move out of the cottage into an apartment
and go to college.
We're helping them with thatand just a springboard into
successful life.
You know that transition is soimportant.
The studies are not good forfoster children in particular
transitioning out of foster careinto the real world, and
they're more likely to have drugand alcohol problems, end up in
prison and early death, and soit's just important that really
the Christian community inparticular because that's what
(02:51):
we're talking about, this is afaith-based organization reaches
out.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe mission of Homes of Hope,
sure.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Well, again, we serve at-risk children and families
throughout the state ofMississippi by providing
basically a stable home and wetry to focus on four areas.
Obviously, we want to meettheir physical needs.
We want to make sure that theyhave food and shelter and
clothing and those kinds ofthings.
And then emotional needs wewant to make sure that we're
helping with therapeutic care,just with counseling, that kind
(03:20):
of thing.
Obviously, spiritual help hopeis predicated on the promises of
God and the future.
You know, we can put our hopein a lot of things with our
fingers crossed, but we wantthem to know that there's a
foundation of real hope.
And then, obviously, theiracademic needs, and so we just
provide all of those wraparoundfocused services where these
(03:40):
Christian parents love on themand the mission is to serve
those kids and to instill hopein their lives.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Absolutely.
They're houses they actuallyhave.
The kids have their ownbedrooms and a great room where
they all come together and eatas well as watch television, so
you really want them to feellike they are at home.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Absolutely.
We want to provide a home-likeenvironment and when possible we
want to reunify families.
We want to provide a home-likeenvironment and when possible we
want to reunify families.
We want to help them get backtogether so we don't say we
serve just children, we servechildren and families.
But while they're in our carewe want them to experience the
best of what home life could andshould be.
And so those parents dodevotionals.
They cook breakfast and lunchand dinner during the obviously
(04:24):
the summer months, that kind ofthing.
They eat lunches at school.
They all go to get on theschool bus and go to public
school, and so it is a home-likeenvironment.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That is wonderful.
Tell us a little bit about thekids.
Where do they come from?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
They come from a variety of places.
We do have CPS referrals, soChild Protective Services in
Mississippi.
Maybe they don't have a fosterhome immediately.
They could take a sibling group.
Or maybe they're olderteenagers and sometimes foster
families want younger children,so we take them.
We also will have schoolcounselors or pastors or youth
(04:57):
ministers or, like you said,just a neighbor that sees a
family that's struggling,they're in crisis and because of
that they come our way and wewalk through a process of intake
and see if they're a good fitand see if we're a good fit to
serve them.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely.
I, as a judge and lawyer, foryears have worked with kids that
have gone through trauma in thehome and I know that many of
the folk that come in there theyoung kids.
They've been through a varietyof stresses in their life.
What efforts do you do to tryto help them to deal with that
trauma and to overcome that?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, I'm so glad you're asking that question.
Every kid that is there hasexperienced trauma.
Sometimes we think of trauma asbeing abuse or neglect or
abandonment, but just beingremoved from your home is
traumatic, you know.
Moving for anybody is just atraumatic event, and so we
really focus on building trust.
We do trauma-informed care.
(05:51):
We call it trust-basedrelational intervention is kind
of the model that we follow.
There's a lot of scientificresearch about it, but basically
just building trust, meetingtheir needs, and then it creates
an environment where they'recomfortable, where you can
correct behavior and makeconnections with them, and it
makes all the difference in theworld.
Really, through empoweringstrategies like meeting their
(06:14):
physical needs, you know whenthey feel safe they can begin to
relax.
When they trust you, they'llreceive correction better and
then from there the healingprocess takes place Right.
We want to grow healthychildren that end up being
productive adults, and then fromthere the healing process takes
place Right.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
We want to grow healthy children that end up
being productive adults, and sopart of that is helping them to
overcome that trauma.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, they so many times are living in fight or
flight all the time.
It's almost like living in aconstant state of stress.
One of the things that we say Idon't want to drift off topic,
but one of the things we say isfor these house parents,
oftentimes dealing with kidsthat have come out of trauma is
much like going to a movie anhour late and then trying to
(06:54):
figure out the rest of the movieand we don't know all that
they've endured.
And so we want to meet themwhere they are relationally and
love them forward into hope.
Because if you're in fight orflight, hope's not even on the
radar.
You know, hope is thinking ofthe future and many of these
kids come and they're in just astate of survival in their own
(07:15):
hearts and minds.
And if you can help them relaxthrough that, get the
therapeutic care that they need,love on them, counsel them,
encourage them, all of a suddenthey can begin to dream about
the future.
So what we like to say is,every single day we're sowing
seeds of hope.
God ultimately gives theincrease.
He'll put that hope in theirheart, but we're just constantly
sowing seeds.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
That is so exciting.
Before you came to Homes ofHope, you have a family and you
actually live out there on thecampus.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
We do, we do.
My wife, stephanie, and I havethree daughters and two of them
are grown and we have onegrandson I got to get that in,
got to mention him we have ouryoungest daughter is a freshman
in college, but Stephanie and Ihave been in pastoral ministry
for the last 36 years.
I've pastored churches my wholeadult life and career.
That was my calling and ourcalling to Homes of Hope really
(08:07):
was dovetailed by that.
Because the board said we don'tneed a CEO, we need a shepherd.
And I said, well, I can do that.
And as God really steered usthat direction, we ended up
selling our house and we movedinto an apartment on campus.
We're all in.
We traded a congregation in achurch setting for a smaller
congregation with deep, deepneeds, but we absolutely love it
(08:29):
.
We're more fulfilled inministry right now perhaps than
ever in our lives.
Our family loves it.
Our kids have just beenoverwhelmed.
Coming back for Thanksgivingand Christmas and being on
campus with all of the biggercommunity of Homes of Hope has
been a blast.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I was recently asked to serve on the board of Homes
of Hope and have just beenamazed by all the great things
going on, lots of changes goingon.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the changes that are going
on at Homes of Hope?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Well, it's pretty amazing to see the things that
God's doing and has done.
Just I've been there a yearalmost and we just literally
have to give him all the creditand all the glory.
We started with an emphasis onspiritual growth.
We just re-established, we'regoing to get the house parents
together every week for prayerand for discipleship.
We're going to encourage them,and I began to see that if we
(09:20):
can keep our house parentshealthy spiritually, everything
else flows right.
If they're in a state ofdistress or dealing with
marriage issues or otherwise,then everything falls apart, and
very quickly too.
Those kids can.
It's kind of like sharks withblood in the water they quickly
frenzy, but when the parents arecalm and regulated.
We've hired two new sets ofhouse parents, and so that was
(09:42):
encouraging.
We renovated one of thecottages and started filling it
up with new kids.
We contracted with ForestGeneral Health and provided
counseling at no charge to allof our staff.
We wanted them to have a placewhere they could go and vent, a
place where they could go andshare, and so that was a big
deal.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Being that parent is really a calling too.
You talked about how you andyour wife.
That's a calling, but thosefolks that are serving as those
house parents are really beingGod's hands and feet.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Without a doubt.
We say that they aremissionaries.
Really they're commissionedinto that work as missionaries
because they are serving in avery unique cultural experience
and they're reaching acrosscultural lines to meet the needs
of these kids.
More about the changes.
One of the fun things thathappened is last year we planted
(10:32):
a garden and I think the housedads were a little stir crazy
over the winter and so theyplowed up about half of Lamar
County.
They planted everything theyplowed so we had vegetables
running out of our ears and wegot chickens on campus and the
kids helped be a part of all ofthat.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
With the price of eggs, it's good you got some
chickens.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
That was an amazing investment, I tell you, it's
like gold.
We're getting a lot of eggs andthe kids we made it part of
their summer curriculum so wetaught them about how to plant
and how to tend to the gardenand then they learn life skills.
We've had Sunday school classesladies that have come and
helped them jar and can and cook.
(11:13):
It's just been a lot of fun.
All of those things havechanged drastically the culture
of the campus.
So many kids these days areface down in a device and they
don't talk to each other andthey don't have good
communication skills because ofthat.
We set those things down andthey started looking up and
that's more than physical.
It's a metaphor for wherethey're going.
(11:33):
You know, they see hope inthose chickens, they see hope in
that garden because their workpays off.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Now, as I recall from the board meeting recently,
you're going to be havingproduce and eggs available for
local Lamar County folks to comeby right.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
We are.
One of the things that we wantto do is change the narrative of
what people think.
They see this campus with a biggate and they don't know what
it is.
Is it a subdivision or is it acompound?
Well, we want to invite peopleonto the campus.
So we're starting a farmer'smarket and at this year's garden
we're planting flower gardensas well.
So we want people to come andtake pictures on the campus.
(12:11):
We want people to come and buycut flowers or get eggs or
produce, but, more than anything, just become familiar with what
we do.
Obviously, we protect theresidents.
We want to protect their space.
It's their home, but there'senough public space that we can
invite people on.
And I want people to recognizethat Homes of Hope is a part of
(12:32):
our community that we can beproud of.
It's not for throwaway children.
It's not, again, an orphanage.
This is a place that helps.
It's a place of healing, aplace of hope.
Somebody asked me early on isHomes of Hope the kind of place,
scott, that you would send yourown children if your family was
in crisis?
And they said don't answer it?
Yet they said evaluate it andif it's not, make it that place.
(12:57):
And so that's what we'reworking toward every day.
It's the kind of place that myfriends, if they had struggles,
they could say you know what Iknow?
A great place where that childcould get some healing and some
help place where that childcould get some healing and some
help.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
That thought occurs to me just in the work that I
have done at Youth Corps is thatnot all of the kids that need a
third party to take care ofthem come from necessarily a
background of drugs and alcohol.
Sometimes it's just badunfortunate luck or poor health
of an individual that reallyrequires that they call on a
third party because they don'thave the family to fall back on.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Absolutely, and we've seen that you know, maybe a
cancer diagnosis and they gothrough a long illness and that
prolonged illness leads the kidsto living with grandmothers and
aunts and the loss of a job,and so it's not necessarily
abandonment or neglect or abuse.
It may be really good parentsthat are just struggling in bad
circumstances and we can providea place of respite and be a
(13:56):
resource and again, hopefully,help the parents as well with
life skills.
That would get them a betterjob, get them reunited.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
You know, I think back when I was growing up, my
mom and daddy used to make usget up early on Saturday morning
or whatever, and go pick peasor butter beans.
But what you're really doing isnot just resulting in a crop
being picked, but you'reteaching kids about the
importance of hard work andthere's no price tag you can put
(14:25):
on that.
It's so important.
How can other folks help?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Well, dawn, you said right off the bat that I am a
pastor at heart, so I'm going togive you three points, and they
all start with the letter P.
Three points in a poem Pray,provide and participate.
So literally, the very firstthing you can do for us is to
pray Pray for the house, parents, pray for the children, pray
for the state of Mississippi,for parents and for the system,
(14:51):
pray for social workers andjudges and all those people that
are involved in the lives ofkids.
So we would ask you to do that.
You can go to our website,homesofhopems, and download a
prayer card.
That's there.
I'd love for people to do that,and it'll just give some
prompts for them to pray forspecific things.
Secondly is provide.
Obviously, we need finances.
(15:12):
We don't start there.
We ask people to pray sincerelybecause we believe God's our
resource.
People can donate.
We're privately funded, and sowe have churches, individuals,
businesses, families that giveregularly and recurringly, and
that is huge.
People can also provide.
We have different supply needs,oftentimes paper goods or food
(15:33):
list.
We have a grocery store oncampus, and so if you've got
seven kids that you're caringfor, going to the grocery store
is an ordeal.
We have a food services managerthat helps us and we put
together things there, butnon-perishable food items.
Oftentimes we'll do lists andhave a drive and you can find
that on our website as well.
(15:53):
And then ultimately we sayparticipate.
There's two or three veryobvious ways people can
volunteer.
We have 42 acres of land and soif we have people that like to
mow grass, we've got lawn mowersand they can come, because you
can just about hear it growingAbout the time we finish it's
time to start over, so itconstantly needs help.
(16:15):
But we also get people to comeand tutor.
We've had ladies that have comeand they've done classes on art
or on sewing or smocking,cooking, tutoring.
There's just a wide variety ofthings that people can do and it
expands the horizon of thesekids when they have
opportunities to learn things.
They're pretty unique because alot of those things you know I
(16:37):
certainly didn't have peoplecoming to my house and doing
special classes when I was a kid, but it really is special when
people in the community getinvolved.
One serious way that they canpeople may not feel called to do
full-time fostering, they maynot be able to, but they can
become resource parents and wehave people that go through a
vetting process and they gothrough training and they get to
(17:00):
know the kids as they volunteerand oftentimes they'll come and
they can take a child for aweekend.
They can take them to the mallor to a movie and invest time in
those kids.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
That sounds wonderful .
I'm reminded that you also havecontacts with the universities
in the area.
We're so blessed to have twolarge universities in the Pine
Belt area.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Absolutely.
I met in fact this past weekwith Dr Joe Paul and with Dr Ben
Burnett at both of ouruniversities and they've made
available to us placementopportunities.
So the School of Social Workwill be placing students that
need to get intern hours on ourcampus.
The schools of education ofboth are sending tutors.
We have upper-level mathclasses that I certainly can't
(17:44):
tutor.
They get into calculus andchemistry and some of the
sciences and I can't help.
But we've got honor studentsfrom William Carey that are
coming and tutoring one-on-onewith our kids and it's just such
a blessing, it's a win-win.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Judge one time told me your greatest joy will come
in serving others, and that's sotrue.
It's a blessing to the kidsthat are there for the students
to come, but I've got a feelingthat those students are learning
a lot just going out there andhelping the kids.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
It really is much more blessed to give than to
receive and you get more out ofserving than a lot of times you
put in.
And they've said that over andover again.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
And you kind of hit the nail on the head.
I say we're not all called tobe foster parents, but we're all
called to do something.
So you encourage folks to comeout to Homes of Hope and just
see what they might be able todo right.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
We do.
They can come and take a tour.
We would love to just heartheir heart for the gifts and
the abilities they have and wemay discover something we
haven't even thought of thatsomebody wants to do.
If somebody wanted to come andwork in the garden with us, they
could do that, and we havepeople that obviously have those
skills and that passion andthey can come and help.
So, yes, we would love for themto come and visit.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Now, last I was out there there was this cool fire
pit and swings and things.
I think Economy Supply helpedyou put that out there.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
They did.
We went on a mission trip toEast Tennessee last fall.
We saw one of these fire pits.
It was just a big arbor withswings on it and we came back
and the kids said, could we getone of those together?
And so we started working withsome local contractors and
economy supply and CotterayConstruction.
Some others helped us put thatthing together and it may be the
most popular place on campus.
(19:25):
Every night it seems there areparents or kids that are out
there swinging and just enjoyingbeing together.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
You know I'm reminded in studies of overcoming trauma
.
The ability to just sit aroundand talk is so important, and so
that area.
Yes, it's fun, but it also letsfolks come out there and visit
and unpack all that they've gonethrough.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
We've said that that fire pit is therapy we couldn't
pay for, you know, because itreally does break down walls and
immediately it breaks downdefenses and people just begin
to open up their hearts andshare with each other.
A lot of tears are shed aroundthat place, but they're healing
tears, it's good.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And so folks that can build things.
You just never know how youmight be a blessing.
You don't necessarily have tobe a house parent.
There are lots of ways that youcan give.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe future of Homes of Hope.
I know we've got several housesout there.
Do you have any vision of thenext step and where we might go?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
We absolutely do.
We're working on a master planwith our board.
In our next meeting We'llreally spend some time talking
about that.
The next two buildings oncampus that we want to do one is
an open-air pavilion that couldbe used for all kinds of
different things, butparticularly for our farmer's
market, and then a chapel.
We want to build a chapel oncampus, not to have church there
the house families go to churchtogether but we want to do
(20:54):
discipleship.
We've talked about doing Biblestudies, a place to gather and
pray, a place to do lots ofdifferent things from a
spiritual learning experience,and so we want a chapel just
right in the heart of campus.
But we also have plans forbuilding additional cottages,
expanding the ministry andreaching more and more kids and
doing all that we can to helpthere.
(21:14):
And so, yeah, on the 42 acres,the overall master plan is just
to continue to expand and toreach as many kids as we can and
to sow as many seeds of hope aswe can.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I love that.
Now let's talk about some hopestories.
I know I've heard you tell afew and they bring me to tears,
and so just tell us a few, anidea of just how God is working
at Homes of Hope.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
A couple come to mind .
Almost every time I start totalk about it I do cry and my
kids have said Dad, you'regetting leaky in your old age.
You know your eyes are oftenfilled with tears.
We have a young girl that's incollege right now.
She is in one of the apartments.
Her story is amazing.
She had been really far behindin school because she had
(22:04):
undiagnosed dyslexia.
They were able to get herspecific help and here's the
quote she said when I got here Istruggled with confidence, I
struggled to read, and now Ican't put books down and I just
love that.
She is confident and she'sgrowing and stepping onto a
college campus has just beenamazing for her.
(22:24):
We have another family thatwe've been working with to
regain custody of their son.
In the middle of that there wasjust a lot of struggle.
They were still just wrestlingthrough some things.
They said we can't afford tofile to regain custody and so we
worked it out with the localattorney to file on their behalf
pro bono, and so we're workingthrough that process.
(22:47):
Well, the dad called and histruck engine had blown up and he
said no judge in the world isgoing to let us have him back if
we can't safely get him toschool and to the doctor or I
can't go to work.
And one of our house parentstook time to look for solutions
and they had a minivan in theirextended family that they
(23:08):
brought back and they put newtires on it and they fixed it up
and they cleaned it up and theywere going to give it to the
family.
Well, they did, but before theydid, it was parked at their
cottage for about a week andthere were a couple of times
that that young man was justsitting out there in that van
and when they found that, theyrealized that this is more than
transportation.
It's hope.
It's a picture of hope to him.
(23:29):
This is an opportunity for hisfamily to get back together and
that's what we want.
I say that not all heroes wearcapes.
Well, our house parents aresuperheroes.
That's the kind of heart thesepeople have.
They just want to help the kidsin whatever way they can.
There's a lot of misinformationabout a place like ours.
People think, well, they'regoing to get money for every kid
(23:50):
that comes, so they just wantmore kids.
No, we actually reduce thetotal census of kids so that we
could care deeply about the onesthat are there.
We want to make a realdifference.
We don't want to just bebabysitting, we don't want to
just be moving them forward.
Like you said, if they're nottransitioning well, then there's
a lot of risky behaviors andeven a lot of danger ahead in
(24:12):
their future, and we want to setthem up as a springboard for
success.
One more We've talked a lotwith our juniors and seniors,
the older kids, and one of themsaid basically these words I'm
paraphrasing, but I could lookat my time at Homes of Hope as
an obstacle.
(24:34):
Just say you know, I was dealt abad hand in life and I had to
go to this children's homeBecause of that.
I would have a ready-madeexcuse for the rest of my life
to say, well, this is why Ican't.
Or I could look at this as anopportunity and say, instead of
I had to go, they say I got togo to the homes of hope and
while I was there, god gave mean incredible opportunity to
learn responsibility and hardwork.
(24:56):
And now, instead of an obstacle, it's an opportunity to be a
springboard into successfuladult life and I just love that.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Absolutely.
We want to grow healthy kids.
God blesses us, so then we canbe a blessing to others.
And I think that's just soimportant for us to remember Now
.
The campus itself.
Folks can come out there andvisit that.
How would one get engaged inhelping at Homes of Hope?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Well, the best way is not for them just to come and
knock on the front door, on thegate.
They certainly can drive ontocampus, push the call button and
come to the office, which isdirectly in the front.
But if they called the officeand I can leave the number, we
can probably leave that in theshow notes, I guess, of your
podcast, but it's 769-456-7021.
(25:46):
Or if they just want to emailme, it's scott at homesofhopems
and I would love for them toemail me directly.
We can line up a time for themto come and tour.
Again, we can just spend timetalking to them.
We bring a lot of folks outduring the school year during
the day, and that way we don'thave to go through all of the.
You know the rigor ofbackground.
(26:06):
It just creates safety andspace for them.
They can tour a cottage.
Kids are at school and they canmeet house parents.
The house parents work duringthe day right there.
That's their full-time job andso they can come and meet the
house parents.
We can find out what gifts,abilities and passions they have
and maybe find a place tovolunteer.
So yeah, so they can call us oremail us and we'd love to
(26:29):
connect.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Now you also are available to talk to churches.
You're still a preacher right.
So I come from a long line ofpreachers.
I know you're always willing tostep into a pulpit when you're
a preacher, so you haveavailability for churches and
you go and share with them.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I do, I've spoken in a lot of churches.
We invite Sunday school classesand small groups onto the
campus and we'll provide lunchfor them if they do that.
But yeah, I preach in civicorganizations Rotary and Kiwanis
and that kind of thing and sothese days I'm preaching in a
lot of different places and atsome level I'm preaching more
now than I did before as apastor, because I'm preaching
(27:08):
three and four times a week.
When I start doing thingsduring the week revivals and
that kind of thing, but alsosharing the story of Homes of
Hope so it's a blast.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
It's important that we remember these are our kids.
These kids are Mississippi kids.
God calls us to take care ofchildren in particular right,
absolutely, absolutely Well.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
In fact, it says there in James that real true
religion is to meet the needs oforphans and widows in their
time of distress.
And so we want to take care ofthe vulnerable.
We want to be a voice for thevoiceless, we want to be
stability for those that are atrisk.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I love that verse that talks about when we do it
unto the least of these.
It's as though we did it toChrist, and so that's how I
think of Homes of Hope that wereally are being God's hands and
feet to love on these kids andmake a difference.
I'm very blessed to be a partof the board.
I can't wait to see all thegreat things that are going to
(28:04):
be accomplished under yourleadership.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Thank you.
We are overwhelmingly honoredto have you on the board with us
and serving with your expertiseand your experience, but also
just your heart, for these kidsand for the state of Mississippi
.
And you and I share a commonpassion to see hope rise.
We want to see kids that seethe future bright.
The windshield is bigger thanthe rearview mirror and we want
them to see that way.
(28:28):
We want them to look forwardwith an anticipation that
there's hope ahead.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So there you have it, folks, you can pray for Homes
of Hope, you can participate andyou can provide the three Ps.
The Good Baptist, on hearingthis, will appreciate the three
Ps.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Well, thanks so much.
Y'all have a great day.
Thanks for joining me, scott.
Thank you so much.
Y'all have a great day, thanksfor joining me, Scott.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Thank you so much when you need some hope and
inspiration To buildcollaboration.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Hope Mississippi is your salvation.
Hope Mississippi.
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