New Hope for Families was born in 2011. Motivated by a desire to serve families with children traumatized by homelessness, a group of concerned Bloomington residents organized a grassroots movement that has grown into a community leader. The mission of New Hope for Families is to help families impacted by homelessness regain and maintain stable housing through a variety of services, including temp
orary emergency shelter for families with children and high-quality early childhood care and education aimed at breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Its founding program is a dynamic emergency shelter service for families of all compositions who have been touched by homelessness in and around Monroe County. New Hope Family Shelter is the only agency in Bloomington that focuses on keeping families intact as they move from homelessness to stability. It quickly became apparent that child care was also a critical, missing element for families on the path to stable housing. In 2015, New Hope created a child development program, The Nest at New Hope. Now known as New Hope Early Learning Center, it provides early childhood education that allows parents to work and prepares children for success in school and in life.
