We competed our first year of the 501(c)3 Nonprofit Public Charity, Hope Family Village. Our accomplishments have been stunning!
Members of the Williams Fairweather Lodge at their Christmas Potluck (December 2018)
Lodge Members Bowling with the W&M Fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (The Fijis) (December 2018)
Number 1. Hope Family Village was named in the Governor’s Budget for the development of a community for 25 caregiving families and their loved ones living with a mental illness.
Since June, we have been working with James City County Planning and Social Services, culminating in the submission of a preliminary conceptual design. The project will take an estimated 3 years to develop (2022).
Number 2. We identified the right landlord to help Hope Family Village open the first Fairweather Lodge in Virginia in July of 2019. We have been working toward this moment since March of 2015. Lodge members have been preparing – meeting weekly, obtaining jobs, filing outcome reports (measure 14 fidelity standards), and conducting lodge activities – since June of 2017 at The Coffee House. Our innovation, as a lodge without a house, was honored in Minneapolis at the Fairweather Lodge Conference.
W. Corey Trench, President of HFV and Executive Director of the Coalition for Community Living’s John Trepp. Award Ceremony, 2018 George (Bill) Fairweather Innovation Award
Additionally, Hope Family Village:
• Received startup funding in 2017, which we have grown in 2018
• Held 3 board meetings, one special meeting, and one annual meeting.
We worked with the W&M School on a number of projects; the student joined us for one of the meetings.
• Established Planning and Finance Committees
Within each are subcommittees (e.g., community eligibility criteria)
• Held Strategic Planning Workshop facilitated by Susie Hill.
Here we reviewed our founding vision, history, state of the state, priorities, milestones and responsibilities for 2019
Session Held at CDR (Norge, VA)
• Received its first grant from the Williamsburg Community Foundation
• Participated in two NAMI VA Events, one a workshop that our board members facilitated
Facilitated Brainstorming Session about Hope Family Village at NAMI Virginia Leadership Conference in Richmond, Virginia
• Were recognized with the NAMI VA Hope Award
Hope Family Village Members in Richmond, VA
• Held monthly dinners expanded (20 – 25 people attending), adding to our list of HFV community prospects
Family Dinner at Jimmy’s Oven And Grill
• Participated, as a member agency and board member, in monthly CCL lodge coordinators calls, board member and marketing committee meetings
The coalition has embraced and supported Hope Family Village and our approach to incorporating Fairweather principles into our community’s design.
CCL Board Meeting and Workshop (October 2018)
• Sponsored W&M Center of Entrepreneurship Project (2017 – 2018), a business model evaluation project, that recommended the Fairweather Lodge as a gateway to Hope Family Village, the community
Cooking a Meal, Having Fun, Working Together at W&M’s Fiji House and with the EFC Team
Making and then breaking bread is essential to caregiver and peer wellness. Hosted here by the Fijis, who live to cook.
EFC Team Leading Brainstorming Session
W&M Team Pictured with Van Black, project donor, and Board Members Trench, Rideout and Whitehead.
• Delivered presentations to Riverside Health System, the W&M Entrepreneurship Center, Rotary Club, and Crown Colony Club
• Expanded our network. Coordinating with Colonial Behavioral Health, James City County, House of Mercy, NAMI Affiliates, and 3E Restoration
• Toured various property options, including Eastern State
Walked Eastern State State property (plus considered other options (e.g, Riverside Quarterpath, land) and various house rental options). Visited Oxford Houses.
• Participated in intense learning and networking Cohousing Regional Conferences (Boulder, Amherst), where we visited and met with members of co-housing villages.
In 2018, we visited 7 villages in three states (CO, MA, and VA)
In Amherst, we met with, and subsequently engaged co-housing architect Laura Fitch, who developed our first preliminary concept design for 25 families on 10 acre plot.
Pioneer Village, Amherst, MA
• Developed an identity, presence on the web (thanks to Phil Trench), and initial marketing materials through the support of W&M’s Kim Mallory
Ted Pino, a longtime advertising agency, has been lending his expertise to help us keep improving our outreach.
2019: Year Ahead will not be quiet, either.
We will:
• Follow Strategic Plan Priorities, reviewing our progress throughout the year
• Start a lodge in a real house (Jan – July window)
Move-in the first residents. Make this place a focal point for HFV
• Keep rallying prospective caregiving families to live in the 25 family village
• Develop details of the hypothetical village at Eastern State
• Participate in JCC Comprehensive Planning Process
• Seek VA Budget Amendment that creates specific acreage and financial terms for Eastern State property.
• Identify other land options in JCC, York, and possibly other counties