Nov. 15, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
In the last year, more than 4,000 requests for help with transportation in North Carolina were made to the United Way’s NC 211 community resource and referral service - https://nc.211counts.org/.
The Hickory Soup Kitchen’s H.O.P.E. (Helping Opportunities for People and Employers) Center is one program designed to address this issue in Catawba County.
In 2018, the Hickory Soup Kitchen did a survey of guests. The answers to the question of, ‘Why aren’t you employed’, centered around several barriers, highlighted by transportation, according to HOPE Center program coordinator Laura Sigmon.
Along with helping those looking for work by connecting them to local staffing agencies, the program provides transportation to and from those jobs.
The Center operates a six-passenger van, offers bus passes and gives bikes to those actively involved in seeking employment or currently employed.
A paid staff member drives the program's van in the morning, starting at 5 a.m. and then volunteer drivers help in the afternoon. How long they are out during the second shift depends on the number of clients they have.
For those using the van service, additional meals are provided they can take with them. Each bag has a breakfast and lunch for two days. The Catawba County United Way recently partnered with the HOPE Center through the Small Businesses Love Big grant cycle to help with this part of the program.
“We all know you’re not going to be as productive if you go to work hungry and you come home hungry,” Sigmon said.
The program coordinator added the bus passes have become a popular option for those who need more flexibility when trying to get to work or to get to a job interview or an appointment to access other services in the county.
The HOPE Center recently received 20 new bikes from Second Harvest as a third transportation option. The Center provides a lock, helmet and tire pump. The bikes are giving to individuals who have proven they will be using it to get to a job and as a source of transportation to help improve their life. There are only six bikes left but the HOPE CENTER is accepting donations of new or gently used adult bikes.
The Impact
Sigmon recently caught up with a former HOPE Center client and learned she has continued to prosper since leaving the program.
She has been employed for a year, just bought a house, just bought a car and is working on a counseling degree.
“She told me one time she had a wonderful childhood, raised by her grandparents. She never realized she was poor and then her grandmother passed away,” Sigmon said.
After that, her home life spiraled downward and began using drugs. With help from local agencies like the HOPE Center, the client has been in recovery for three years.
“That success story is by no means mine. It is hers,” Sigmon said. “But we are the agency who got her a bike so she could get to her job.”
She was determined to turn her life around and just needed that extra bit of help to start that journey. This has been the pattern for several of the Center’s clients with many maintaining employment for several years.
Sigmon said she’s always looking for more business partners who are willing to work with the HOPE Center’s clients, providing a supportive and nurturing environment.
“And we’re always looking for volunteers to help any way they can,” she said.
Learn more at https://www.hskhopecenter.org/ or email hskhopeproject@gmail.com.