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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 29, 2012 · 10 Home Suite Hope helps single-parent families By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Having helped the local homeless for nearly a decade, Home Suite Hope (HSH), which hosts the well known Empty Bowls soup kitchen fundraiser each fall in town, has shifted its focus to assisting single-parent families, saying the population of this particular group has been increasing exponentially. "Over the past few years, we saw there was more of a demand on this side," said Jules Graham-Hood, HSH director of development. "By focusing one target population -- single-parent families -- it helps concentrate our resources where the need is greatest in Halton and simplifies the delivery of our program elements." HSH assists single-parent families by providing affordable transitional housing and connecting them with support services offered in Halton. There are currently eight families housed by the charity organization and dozens more on a waitlist. "We want them to stay in their community, rather than uprooting them from it," said Graham-Hood. "(And) where we differ is that we also give the families the education, training and tools they need to break the cycle from going from one social service to another... to give them the confidence and level of security they need to get them back on their feet and move on." The organization officially shifted its focus to exclusively assisting single-parent families in August of last year when it sold one of its properties to affordable housing advocate Garth Brown. That particular home, the address of which is not mentioned to protect the privacy of the individuals living there, will continue to serve low-income males in partnership with Halton social service agencies such as Support and Housing Halton and ASH (Addiction Supportive Housing). Meanwhile, HSH offers to help the families in its care in such areas as educational support for children, family counselling, rent, food, bills, transportation costs, and medical and dental plans, among others. "When families become homeless, it's poverty on every scale imaginable," said GrahamHood. "We want them to stay in their community, rather than uprooting them from it. We also give the families the education, training and tools they need to break the cycle from going from one social service to another." Jules Graham-Hood, director of development Home Suite Hope Hate your kitchen? We have a remodeling option for every budget. Your existing cabinets are valuable. Remodeling them will give you a great new look for a fraction of the cost of comparable new cabinets. The charity currently has six units in Oakville and one in Milton, with an additional unit being planned for Burlington. Graham-Hood said HSH is also looking to build or purchase another property in Oakville later this year -- and its board of directors recently approved an expansion plan to have a total of 15-16 units in the region by late 2013, as well. "There's just so much demand out there, there's no choice but to expand," Graham- Hood said. "We have always accommodated the needs of our families well, but there is also always a need to grow and improve the program." Needing nearly $500,000 to operate each year, which is collected exclusively from fundraising and private donations, HSH is run by a 10-member volunteer board of directors and six full-time and part-time staff members. 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