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By Diane Nelson

November is an important month at Steps to Hope. It was the month when we learned from the Internal Revenue Service that our application for non-profit status was under review and a time to give thanks and gather a few more things to obtain our 501(c)3, which came about six months later. 

We had been at our work since 1986, learning and putting resources in place, helping to set policy at the state level, and being very proactive advocates for victims of domestic violence.  

We made friends with other agencies in neighboring counties and worked for the rights of women and children living in terrible “home” situations.  

Today, the work has changed exponentially. What started as an emergency shelter and “safe haven” has evolved to include transportation, job training and placement, education, counseling and therapies, medical and legal help, transitional housing, teaching about finances, and budgeting…the list is extensive. The demand for these services comes not only from government funders but also from clients and donors, and it comes from the children who grew up in that situation and never want it to happen to them.  

When a “mission” is born, it is usually the brainchild of a tight group of people with a similar goal. Many of those folks take on many different responsibilities and just about everyone starts working for free. At some point, the work becomes too much for a volunteer, and a staff member must be hired. A governing board of some type sets goals and policies and raises money. And then there are those who are actually in the trenches who must learn how to help clients (in our case, survivors) respectfully, how to help them set goals, how to build them up, what resources can be offered and how to make that happen. Once the mission proves to have a following, a “charity” designation is sought.

But the work doesn’t stop there. And it must be sustained year after year. 

I remember the early years of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Danny Thomas visited every town in the United States, raising money. His team organized fundraisers, one of which I remember fondly—the “Teenage March,” which happened around the country. St. Jude distributed donation cups all over Palm Beach County, and my mother placed, collected, counted and rolled coins, and then sent the check. I don’t remember how many years we did that, but that’s how St. Jude raised money in the early years. At some point, they changed their business model to sustain their work. With that, they’ve changed the survival rate of childhood cancer from 20% to 80%.

Steps to Hope is an agency that serves the needs of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Our mission is to create a community free of the violence that comes from intimate partner violence. The need is great, and the clients live (and suffer) in secret. Our organization has been in the community for nearly 40 years. For many of those years, it has operated with a “grassroots” business model. We had funding from the state of NC and some federal funding. And we had amazing donors who helped every year. The foresight of past Boards established the thrift store as a means to close the gap between what we received and what we needed. We continued our work on a “shoestring” budget and still do.  

The needs of our clients have changed dramatically, and we have worked hard to answer every request. In the recent past, in addition to providing shelter, we have helped in many ways: assisted with protective orders, advocated in court proceedings, accompanied people to the emergency rooms, helped with obtaining medication, provided transportation, helped purchase a camper as a permanent home, provided books to learn a trade, helped pay for daycare in the early days of a new job for a single mom, provided clothing, made car repairs, paid security and utility deposits and application fees, helped locate cars for our clients, presented summer camp for children in our community, purchased school clothes for children in our shelter, paid medical and dental costs for children and adults, and provided free counseling and furniture for new homes. 

Serving others fosters a sense of belonging and unity, strengthens the fabric of communities, and uplifts those struggling. Staff wears many hats to get everything done in the most economical way.

 That’s where a change in thinking comes in. We are grateful to the community for how our work is supported. It is because of the generosity of our people that we can continue, and we owe it to everyone to ensure we can keep going, regardless of what happens in the future. 

For that reason, Steps to Hope, while funded with some state and federal budget dollars, has had to adapt its operating model. We now have, for a short time, an opportunity to build a reserve to fund future operations. 

It will also help us build a new shelter for our clients where each can have their own space, and provide room for children to play, do homework, or watch a fun movie. How grateful we are to be able to do this.

So during November, we share our gratitude with you, our community. Thank you for helping us establish a means to be solvent into the future, to be confident that we will be able to provide everything needed by our clients, no matter the state or federal funding! 

We look forward to the time when our community is free of violence from domestic and sexual assault. And until then, we plan to be right here!