Community Leader Interview Paper

Community Leader Interview – Linda Jo
I interviewed Linda Jo from Community of Hope, a non-profit organization, based out of the St. Johns neighborhood in North Portland. I chose to interview Linda Jo because her organization is only a few blocks from my home, and I think it is important to familiarize myself with programs that are being offered in my area. The population that Community of Hope works with is homeless families, specifically single-parent families. The purpose of this paper is to explore what Community of Hope does, Linda Jo’s role and relevant training, and the work she is doing within the community.
Community of Hope opened in February 2014 to temporarily house homeless single-parent families who have been impacted by barriers related to trauma. Community of Hope’s goal is to provide families with a safe environment and parents with the tools to find a job, locate stable housing, and establish healthy parenting skills. Parenting classes are offered and they focus on

preventing adverse childhood experiences. Because most of the families have suffered from some form of trauma, the organization works through a trauma informed model. Since Community of Hope is also a relatively small organization due to the size of their facility, they can currently only house eight families at a time. Families are able to stay at Community of Hope from four to six months and due to the limited space available, Linda Jo reported turning people away was one of her least favorite things she has to do.
Linda Jo’s education has allowed her to take on many roles within Community of Hope.

Linda Jo received a BSW and a M. Ed. As the director for Community of Hope, Linda is responsible for working on policy, building connections within the local community, ensuring the needs of the organization are being met through grant writing, fundraising, and connecting with local churches in the area for donations. Furthermore, she supervises employees and clients from a servant leadership standpoint and is responsible for asking families to leave when they are not abiding by the program which she notes as being another hard aspect of her position. Linda Jo also mentors and supports clients and tries to incorporate her faith into her practice. Clients that are apart of Community of Hope are also placed on a point system and Linda Jo is responsible for giving and taking away points. She stated that she would rather take the pressure away from her employees and have the client be mad at her

instead.
Community of Hope has led the way for non-profits in the state of Oregon who house homeless individuals/families to be able to expand more affordably. In response to my question pertaining to what the organization was working on, Linda Jo reported that Community of Hope was able to install eight showers in their facility and increase their occupancy. Before, clients would have to shower in a portable shower located in the parking lot. In order to expand, Community of Hope had to pay thousands of dollars for the addition of showers and the fees associated with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). Community of Hope worked closely with the Home Builders Neighborhood Association to lead the fight against the outrageous fees that often prevented organizations from expanding. Even though Community of Hope did not get any waivers from PBOT and for the permitting fees associated with the addition of showers, future non-profit organizations who house homeless individuals/families are now exempt from certain permitting fees and PBOT fees. This was a huge success because now there are less financial obstacles that an organization may face.
What is next for Linda Jo and Community of Hope? Linda Jo reported that she is the beginning phase of finding someone to fill her role with Community of Hope. She does not plan on stepping away from Community of Hope entirely, but Linda Jo wants to open another house that is specific to housing families with two parents, couples, or male single-parents. Currently, Community of Hope houses both math and female single-parents.