"I’ve mostly had a good life, but I was an opiate addict for many years. Sometimes I managed it, and sometimes I didn’t. My family supported me through it all, but in 2014, I was caught manufacturing meth. After that, I stayed sober for several years, then I relapsed. About three months later, everything fell apart when I ran from the police instead of taking a drug test.

Before Program Living, I always expected people to bail me out when I messed up, and I never had to spend much time in jail when I was arrested. I never thought something was wrong with me. I thought other people were the problem, and I wasted two or three months of the program fighting that mindset. Program Living has taught me that there are consequences for my actions, and I’ve learned to take responsibility for myself. I had to learn that no one owes me anything, especially God.

God has given me the wisdom to realize what caused me to relapse last time, and I see now that it’s on me. Now, I’m dealing with this hole I have inside me. I’m learning more about my salvation, and I pray on my own. My family has slowly come back into my life, and I work full time at a factory. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with other people in my hometown that have the same struggles as me. I’m glad that I have a group of people at Hope House to reach out to. I know they care, they’ll be there and tell me straight. After I graduate, I’m excited to get back to my life, and hopefully this time I’ll do it right."

We are grateful for the support of Ball Corporation, who helps enrich the communities where they live and work. With Ball’s recent $9,000 donation, we are addressing needs in our community regarding employment, transportation, and currently, COVID-19 relief. We look forward to continued partnership, as Ball opens its new manufacturing facility in 2022 (see news release below). Those interested in employment at Ball in Bowling Green can apply here.

December 13, 2020, is the five-year anniversary of our first Program Living for Men resident’s entry. In the words of our Program Living Director, Jon Calloway, “Several thousand good times, laughs, heartaches, and memories later here we are today... still confident Christ will save sinners out of the stronghold of addiction!”

I am amazed it has been five years since our first residents entered Program Living, and I am overwhelmed by the hundreds of men that have followed in their footsteps over the last five years. I came across a news article from December 2015, where I said, "Today I sat for two and a half hours at our Program Living house at 1149 Adams Street with our first three Program Living students sharing our stories and seeing how God's grand story wants to intersect our stories...I saw hurt and pain in our stories, but what I didn't see was anything the Gospel hasn't overcome. Today, I got a picture of what God has been leading Hope House to do for three years."

Thank you to everyone who has joined us in the sometimes difficult, but always worthwhile, work of addiction recovery through Program Living for Men. While we seek to do this work faithfully and obediently, we are so thankful you have graciously chosen to walk with us, to walk with our men, and to give so sacrifically to help us get to where we are today.

As we look forward to the opening of Program Living for Women in the coming year, we are humbled by this five year anniversary and reminder of where the Lord has brought us and the lives He has changed for His glory!

Sincerely,
Bryan Lewis
Executive Director

​"My biological parents struggled with drug addiction, and my sister and I were adopted when we were young. I was raised in a Christian home by my adopted parents, but I was a teenager who liked to party. My adopted mom passed away when I was right out of high school, and that’s when my life got out of control.

I’ve spent most of the last four years of my life in jail because of my drug and alcohol addiction. Before my last time in jail, I was sober for a couple months but fell back into addiction, selling drugs, and that lifestyle. My family helped me bond out of jail, and I agreed with my sister to go to rehab.

I got into Redeemed and Restored in Hopkinsville, and they helped me get sober and told me about Hope House. I knew Hope House would help me with my relationship with Jesus, and I’ve been in Program Living since June. I’m trusting that God is working in my life through this program.

I got to golf with my dad and sister at Swing for Hope, which is something I haven’t done since I was young, and I will get to participate in Affordable Christmas. I have one biological daughter, and she has three siblings that live with her mom. 2014 was the last year I got to spend Christmas with the kids, and my daughter was so young she doesn’t remember it.

I sent money for Christmas gifts when I was in jail, but I don't even know what gifts were bought for them from me. I’m excited that I can pick out my own gifts for them this year and that I can be the one to give them to the kids on Christmas morning. I’m looking forward to making memories with my daughter, and I know she’ll remember this Christmas."

For Immediate Release

​(OCTOBER 13, 2020) Bowling Green, KY – Local non-profit Hope House Ministries launched New Leaf Service, Maintenance & Repair in 2019 with the intention to match the skills of residents in its 12-month addiction recovery program, Program Living, with local businesses and homeowners who need service-based work completed.

In 2020, Hope House Ministries entered into a contract with the City of Bowling Green to mow five city parks. These five parks have been maintained throughout the 2020 mowing season. This partnership with the City of Bowling Green has been valuable to both Hope House and the men enrolled in Program Living. The partnership has helped restore residents’ dignity, sense of purpose, and provided the opportunity for them to learn new skills beneficial to their employment readiness and eventual full-time employment after six months of program completion.

Along with these valuable skills and principles, Hope House’s partnership with the City of Bowling Green provides an opportunity for residents to earn income from Hope House. This allows them to care for their recovery needs and their families while they are apart from one another. Hope House is honored to partner with the City of Bowling Green to help reduce city expenses and serve all Bowling Green citizens during this season of economic uncertainty.

Hope House, founded in 2009, is a faith-based community development organization that exists to alleviate physical and spiritual poverty through gospel restoration by partnering with local churches, businesses, and community members in Bowling Green. Hope House believes poverty is much more than lacking material provisions and possessions, but instead, that poverty is rooted in broken relationships. The organization’s goal is to help a person find restoration in all areas of life.