Shelter of Hope

Helping Homeless Families

The Shelter of Hope provides three different types of service to families in the Ashland area:

  1. Residential Services
  2. Non-residential Services
  3. Educational and Counseling Services

The following is a guideline for providing these services to applicants.

Residential Services

Services provided by the Shelter of Hope for resident guests include the following:

Resident Guests can also utilize the following programs:

* availability of these programs is determined by available funding and resident guests must qualify.

Homelessness Prevention Services

Services provided by the Shelter of Hope for resident guests include the following:

To qualify for these services residential guests must meet the following requirements and complete the following:

  1. Applicants for residential services must complete a face-to-face application interview and sign a release of information form allowing the Shelter of Hope to do a background check of all family members.
  2. The family must be homeless in order to receive residential services.
  3. The family unit needs to have the ability to access low-income housing.
  4. If the family cannot access low-income housing, the family must demonstrate the ability to pay market rent for housing and utilities.
  5. An appropriate size unit must be available at the Shelter of Hope.
  6. Food and non-food supplies are available to Guest families. Required paperwork must be completed.
  7. Assistance with transportation may be provided. Bus passes may be available to guests, and assistance with gasoline may be available. For gasoline assistance, proof of registration, insurance and a valid driver's license are required.
  8. Resident guests who are unemployed are required to assist the facilities coordinator with duties in the food pantry and around the shelter facilities.
  9. Resident guests are subject to random apartment inspections and must meet regularly with the shelter housing counselor to ensure that they are progressing towards finding permanent housing and overcoming any existing housing barriers such as unemployment, credit history, lack of identification etc.
  10. If guests fail to follow the guidelines outlined by the housing counselor in the guest agreement they may be asked to vacate the shelter premise at any time during their alloted time of stay.

Non-residential Services

Homelessness Prevention Services

Services provided by the Shelter of Hope for non-resident guests include the following:

To qualify for these services non-residential guests must meet the following requirements and complete the following:

  1. All families receiving non-residential assistance must complete appropriate paperwork before any assistance is provided.
  2. Assistance with non-residential services will be based on the available resources from the Shelter of Hope.
  3. For previous guests of the Shelter who have successfully achieved permanent housing, the Shelter will assist the family transition to permanent housing with food and non-food supplies for 60 days after the guest has moved to permanent housing.
  4. Families who are not eligible for assistance from CAReS due to lack of photo identification may be assisted once per year with canned goods and perishable food stuffs.
  5. Emergency food will be provided once. The family must state that the requested assistance is an emergency. Non-food supplies may be available to victims of house fire and/or flood. Information about this assistance will be shared with CAReS.
  6. Assistance with rent and/or utility payments will be provided one time to previous guests.
  7. Assistance with rent or utilities may be provided to a family, if the assistance will allow the family to maintain its housing for at least 30 days; and if the family can demonstrate that it has sufficient income to maintain housing beyond 30 days. Families requesting rent and/or utility assistance will be asked to contact other agencies to help cover the cost. A maximum payment from Shelter of Hope funds will not exceed the cost of one weeks stay at a local motel.
  8. A family may be housed in a local motel for a maximum of one [1] week, if the Shelter of Hope facilities are not available. The family must demonstrate that it will have housing at the end of that time, or the family must include a male child between the ages of 13-18. Boys between the ages of 13 and 18 cannot stay at the Salvation Army Shelter.
  9. Referrals to other agencies will be made to all families requesting non-residential services.

Educational and Counseling Services

  1. Seminars for financial education are provided by the Shelter of Hope to the general public in the areas of homeownership, budget & credit, and predatory lending. These seminars may be scheduled by collaborative agencies. Scheduling of seminars is based on the availability of appropriate staff.
  2. One-on-one homeownership counseling, counseling related to predatory lending, and limited budget and credit counseling is available only to participants in the educational seminars based on availability of appropriate staff, or referrals from Kentucky Housing Corporation.
  3. The Shelter of Hope also offers a homeless simulation entitled: On The Streets that educates the community about the realities of homelessness. The simulation breaks down stereotypes and misconceptions on cause and effect of homelessness by allowing participants to experience the difficulty and frustrations of being homeless.
  4. The educational programs currently offered by the Shelter of Hope include:
    • On The Streets: A Homeless Simulation
    • Don't Borrow Trouble: Predatory Lending Awareness
    • Yes You Can: A Home Ownership Seminar
    • Loan Modification Counseling
    • Pre-Purchase Financial Counseling