History

Eighteen years ago, a group of South Bay parents and concerned friends, in partnership with the Harbor Regional Center in Torrance, formed a non-profit, affordable housing program called Home Ownership For Personal Empowerment (HOPE, Inc.).  They believed that all persons, no matter the severity of their disability, have the right to live in and be a part of the community and to live where and with whom they choose.

In 1995, with State of California Housing and Community Development funds, HOPE purchased its first two properties in Bellflower and Lakewood.  Then in 1997, HOPE received Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants for four condominiums: two in Torrance and two in Long Beach.  With gathering momentum, HOPE added three to eight new properties each year from 1997-2002 through a variety of innovative concepts and lending programs.  HOPE purchased properties through Federal, State, and County of Los Angeles, City of Industry Fund housing programs, CHDO (Community Housing Development Organization), and private funding sources.  The total value of HOPE's property now exceeds 6.5 million dollars.  HOPE is a certified CHDO in the cities of Bellflower, Long Beach, Norwalk and Southgate making it eligible for both acquisition and rehabilitation funding.  

Currently, HOPE's fifty-three properties are located in Los Angeles County as follows:  four in Torrance, nineteen in Long Beach, eight in Bellflower, four in Lakewood, one in Norwalk, two in South Gate, two in Cerritos, 2 in North Hills, two in Northridge, four in Los Angeles, one in Hawthorne, one in Artesia, one in Lomita and one in Burbank.  These homes are leased to adults with developmental disabilities at very reasonable rates.  Rents collected from the tenants are not more than 30% of income the individual receives or about $350 per month per individual residing in the home or duplex.  At this time, ninety adults with developmental disabilities live in combined residences.

Over the years, our fund raising events and activities have created a tradition of philanthropy and fun.  In the early years, HOPE held gatherings at private homes and offices.  In 1999, HOPE launched its first fund raising dinner and silent auction at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.  Since then, HOPE has staged events at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Universal Studios Globe Theater, Disney Concert Hall, and the Orpheum Theater.  Foundations, corporations and individual donors have played instrumental roles in HOPE's accelerated growth.  City National Bank has supported HOPE for over ten years.  Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Employees Community Fund of Boeing California and ECHO Northrop Grumman have also consistently supported HOPE.  The Ahmanson, Weingart, S. Mark Taper, Ralph M. Parsons and John Gogian Family Foundations have contributed significant grants for major repair and remodeling, especially on newly purchased properties.  In September 2007, HOPE was awarded a three year grant of $225,000 from the Weingart Foundation's Developmental Disabilities Initiative for capacity building.

All this would not have been possible without our donors, Board Members, tenants, and volunteers.