Get Up, Dust Off, Keep Going

Hope is a testament to Gracewood’s mission to invest in single mothers for the long haul, giving them the time needed to truly develop and achieve the tools for success not only for themselves but for a future generation.

That’s the assessment of Debbie Rippstein, Executive Director of Gracewood.

Hope graduated from Houston Baptist University (HBU) in August of this year with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is in the process of pursuing her certificate to teach elementary school and is substitute teaching in the meantime.

Hope’s oldest daughter, Alexis, is in her first semester at HBU on an academic scholarship. Her son, Chris, is a sophomore, writing for his high school newspaper. Her youngest daughter, Sophie, is busy working hard and loving the second grade.

“Gracewood has given us everything we need to be successful on our own,” said Hope. “Before coming to Gracewood, I had a huge fear of failure. Gracewood helped me overcome that fear. I’ve learned to get up, dust off and keep going.”

Looking at them, it’s hard to believe they’re the same family that arrived at Gracewood five years ago.

Prior to coming to Gracewood, Hope was living paycheck to paycheck in her mother’s house with her three children, her mom, brother, sister and her sister’s four children.

Knowing that it was not a good environment for her children to be living in close quarters with so many people, Hope left. But, it only took one night at a shelter to recognize that was not a good solution either.

Hope found a pay-by-the-week apartment, but quickly realized it was taking nearly her entire paycheck just for rent. The Human Resources office at the local department store, where Hope worked as a sales specialist, gave her a list of agencies that might help. That’s where she first saw the name Gracewood.

“With just a little bit of research, I knew that Gracewood would be a place where we could not only get back on our feet but find healing as well,” said Hope. “I began calling over and over again until space opened up.”

Hope moved to Gracewood in August of 2008 with her three children who at the time were 13, 10 and 2 years old.

“I was a 32-year-old single mother without a high school diploma, with a paralyzing fear of failure,” said Hope. “But with the encouragement of the Gracewood staff, I obtained my GED 30 days after moving in.”

Gracewood staff helped Hope enroll in computer classes and by January 2009, she was able to enroll in Houston Community College full time.

“When we arrived at Gracewood, my children and I were messed up physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” said Hope. “Like Jesus, Gracewood met not only our spiritual needs but also our tangible ones. Gracewood transformed our lives from the inside out.”

With the help of the Children at Heart Foundation and Gracewood, Hope began pursuing her degree at HBU in August 2010. Gracewood also helped Hope secure a job in HBU’s financial aid office, a job which she held until her recent graduation.

Hope and her family were able to move out of Gracewood into an independent living program in September 2011.

“Many programs lose sight of the people they start out wanting to help and people become numbers,” said Hope. “Gracewood is not a program but a ministry, a ministry God has used in a mighty way in my life and in the lives of my children.”