At the Ottawa, Ill., Corps, Pathway of Hope (POH) is an integral part of outreach and ministry. With more than two dozen families participating in the initiative at any given time, corps officers Lt. Wayne Strayer and Captain Yanet Cabrera and their team focus on intentional, ongoing relationship building, pastoral care and fostering a community of support among the families.
“Our mission here is driven by families and Pathway of Hope,” said Lt. Wayne. “As pastors and corps officers, we are encouraging the families to take active roles in the church and to work with the incoming participants to help teach and support each other.”
Celebrating the success of Pathway of Hope (POH) families is one way they develop and maintain these connections. A victory event is held each year at the corps to recognize the families who have completed the POH initiative. At the latest luncheon 30 families were honored and received certificates and gifts.
New POH families, family members, friends, Ottawa advisory board members and divisional headquarters officers are all invited to be part of the celebration where participants who’ve completed POH share how the initiative has changed the course of their lives.
“It’s important for participants to see the successes of others,” said Rachelle May, who until recently served as the corps case manager.
“It helps the new families see the possibilities for themselves.”
According to Lt. Wayne the continued growth of the POH initiative in Ottawa can be attributed to a passionate team, community partners who refer clients and word-of-mouth praise from participants. With such a high volume of cases, part-time case manager Kassondra Govero joined the team, and a system was put in place whereby families receive direct support but also are encouraged to support and encourage one another.
Families begin the initiative with weekly caseworker check-ins, then scale back to meeting every two weeks, then once a month as they begin to achieve their goals. As new families come in, established families move toward completing the initiative and it continues to grow.
Lt. Wayne credits much of the robust participation in the initiative to creativity in connecting the families not only with case management and community resources but also with one another. Through a weekly activity called Family Connections, POH parents gather for discussion and fellowship while their children participate in youth programs. Relationships develop between families who are experiencing many of the same hardships.
“Family Connections has really built POH,” he said. “It’s important for the parents to connect with one another, but the kids are also making new friends. It’s all faith-based.”
In addition to in-person Family Connections meetings, parents may download an app which provides a safe place to share prayer requests, ask for support, encourage one another, and be a part of a community. Because the app is private, they feel comfortable sharing.
The deep sense of community and ongoing contact with the corps through caseworker check-ins and the officers for pastoral care has led to some families accepting the invitation to become part of corps programs and Sunday worship, with senior and junior soldier enrollments on the horizon.
