 |
As a carpenter, Karen Fournier has been restoring homes and other structures for the better part of two decades.
These days, she spends her time working to restore lives.
In 2004, Fournier founded Hearth Homes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women and their children secure safe, affordable housing. The effort also provides families with emotional and spiritual support through a Christian-based approach that Fournier describes as “a foundation for restoration.”
“God has really blessed me to do this,” Fournier said. “I’ve really seen it have a positive impact.”
Hearth Homes also provides housing for single women and expectant mothers. Some are escaping abusive relationships, others are overcoming the damaging effects of drugs and alcohol. Women are required to be working, looking for employment or volunteering while they live in the home. Tenants pay what they can in rent while learning to maintain a budget and access helpful resources like counseling and educational services.
“Most of them have never been in a traditional family,” Fournier said. “That’s where you learn to care for each other and respect each other. Once they know someone cares about them, they really start to change.”
Fournier is planning to add two homes in the Spokane Valley to supplement a house on the North side of Spokane. Earlier this week, Fournier and a group of volunteers continued work on one of the Spokane Valley homes which should be ready sometime next month. So far, new doors, fixtures and windows have been added along with complete electrical rewiring, fresh coats of paint and updated tile. Carpet was scheduled to go in this week.
“It’s been a lot of work,” Fournier said. “Now we just need a houseful of furniture.”
Fournier, who works full-time as an account manager for an insurance company, continues to rally financial support for Hearth Homes by contacting prospective contributors and sponsoring events like an upcoming fund-raiser on May 8. The event at Victory Faith church on Argonne will include a dinner and auctioned items like airline tickets, golf packages and gift certificates from area businesses.
“What we’re hoping for with the fund-raiser is to generate monthly donations,” Fournier said. “That’s what’s going to sustain us.”
In December, Fournier joined the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. Around the same time, she moved into an office at Spokane Valley Partners, the social service organization on Broadway near Bowdish. Steve Brown, the emergency assistance coordinator at SVP, said the addition of Hearth Homes has already made a difference. The site also includes resource help from groups like Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs and a women, infant and children health clinic.
“It’s been great to have another source of assistance here,” Brown said.
Fournier said she learned the value of supportive services when she was homeless and struggling with substance abuse years ago. She talks about how her Christian faith pulled her through the storms of life and inspired her to establish a haven for others experiencing similar uncertainty.
“When you’re in a nurturing community, you learn to rely on each other and get through things,” Fournier said. “I like seeing progress, seeing people move forward. It means so much for these women to be in a safe place, to get away from all the chaos. It helps them establish some sense of normalcy and start taking those steps forward.”
Want to find out more?
The inaugural “Celebration of Mothers” dinner and fund-raiser for Hearth Homes will be held Friday, May 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Victory Faith church, 2024 N. Argonne. Admission to the dinner is free. Please RSVP. To contact Hearth Homes, call 926-6492 or e-mail Karen at hearth.homes@comcast.net. To learn more, visit www.hearth-homes.org. Spokane Valley Partners is located at 10814 E. Broadway and can be reached by calling 927-1153.
|
|
By
Craig Howard
