HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – After two years of planning and building, Hope House is now open and functioning in Christian County, acting as a temporary, transitional living space for kids who are first entering the foster care system and are waiting for placement. The house gives them a safe, comfortable space to rest, eat, and be cared for after being removed from a home.

“Our biggest thing when designing the house is we wanted it to feel like a home,” Joy Closet and Hope House founder Heather Gray told Christian County Now. “Overall, we want a child to feel hope on that worst day.” Prior to the existence of hope house, kids who are suddenly removed from homes or foster homes are often left to sleep in the DCBS office in uncomfortable, unfamiliar environments while awaiting new placement.

Hope House features, community support

Dozens of community members, supporters, and Christian County Sheriff’s deputies attended the ribbon cutting on Sept. 5, Gray welcomed everyone into the completed space alongside Hope House and Joy Closet board members and employees.

In a true community effort, Gray collaborated with the local Junior Auxiliary to help design the kid’s spaces, Ashley Furniture donated the furnishings, Legacy Metals donated the house structure, and the decorative lumber was donated by Kentucky Lumber. Fundraising efforts have also continually supported construction, with $14,000 raised during a Lip Sync Battle in January.

The ribbon cutting not only marked the completion of construction, but the space was also ready to take in kids that same day if needed. The house is already stocked with clothes of all sizes and colors, with fully furnished and decorated bedrooms, a cozy living room, dining area, and kitchen.

Growth and expansion of Joy Closet

“It started as an idea in a basement closet of a church, and so for it to have grown this rapidly and this well in four years is just a testament of her sheer determination and will and a lot of blood sweat and tears,” said Joy Closet Assistant Director Julia Roberts.

Sept. 1 marked the fourth anniversary of the establishment of the non-profit Joy Closet, which was Gray’s first venture in the city supplying a free closet for foster/kinship youth, allowing them to obtain clothes and comfort items in their home placements.

“Having the house come to fruition basically at our fourth birthday was a major accomplishment. I’m very thankful for the community that has rallied behind all of Joy Closet over the last four years,” Grey said.

Joy Closet has grown their reach exponentially in the past few years by launching the Joyful consignment store in downtown Hopkinsville, expanding their programs to teens aging out of the foster care system, and fully constructing and opening Hope House.

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