Mission
Hilliard House is a 501 (c) (3) organization that opened its doors in September 2000 to serve homeless women with children. The facility is located in the East End of Henrico on Nine Mile Road. This thirty-bed facility is the first facility in the Metro Area which offers shelter for women who have children up to the age of 18. The agency works with other homeless service providers and social service agencies that offer families the services and support needed to take the first steps toward a new beginning.
The goal of Hilliard House is to offer a safe, supportive community in which a woman can heal from the traumas of life that have led her to her current situation. Each woman meets with a case manager and sets both short-term and long-term goals which enable her to take the necessary steps to successfully return to the community. Opportunities for job training, GED classes, twelve step programs, parenting and anger management classes, communication, nutrition and classes and activities for the children, encourage and enable women to meet their goals. Each woman must also attend house meetings, maintain her room and help with household chores and cooking.
Women with children who are homeless, who can benefit from the program offered and who are willing to comply with the program structure of Hilliard House, are welcomed. They come from across the area and through referrals from other emergency shelters and other crisis programs. They are also referred to Hilliard House from Central Intake.
This one-year program requires the residents to:
- Set short-term and long-term goals
- Assemble medical and educational documents for both mothers and children
- Obtain a copy of their credit report and develop a debt reduction plan and budget
- Undergo mental health evaluations and physicals
- Obtain and maintain employment
- Evaluate reading, math skills and further education
- Address substance abuse, domestic violence history, mental illness, and other impacting issues that have contributed to a housing crisis
- Resolve legal issues
A strong emphasis is placed on the children's need to provide a safe and stable environment as well as to establish a strong connection with the schools and educational system. Every effort is made to transition the families into housing that is located in the child's current school district to avoid even more of a disruption in their lives.
