A Center Providing More than Just Hope

The New Hope Life Center, founded by Kathleen McCallister in Omaha, Neb. was formed in the hopes of assisting
individuals who are committed to overcoming past failures and regaining hope as they reenter the community. New Hope offers both residential and non-residential programming for women who have previously been incarcerated, suffered from addiction, or who suffer from mental illness. Almost 90 percent of the women who utilize New Hope’s resources have been previously incarcerated.

According to McCallister, the beginning of New Hope Life Center was nothing short of a miracle and only took several weeks for the residential home to become a reality. “I began to see this intense reality of the failure of women who didn’t have good support systems trying to reenter the community after they’d maybe completed treatment but didn’t have the social network necessary to support them, support life” McCallister, Director of New Hope said.

It was apparent that the Omaha community was in need of a Christian-based facility that would provide women with a wholistic recovery program involving faith, community, and life skills. New Hope served more than 300 contacts this past
year in both the correctional facility and the residential home.

“The women tremendously value the resources that New Hope provides. It gives them the confidence to launch out on
their own because they know they have the support system of New Hope” Eunice Arant, Chaplin at New Hope said.
The transitional living program lasts about a year. Each resident is required to commit for a minimum of six months.
Each resident is provided with a mentor who will be there throughout the entirety of the program.

“New Hope is about a community, not a program. This is what forms a strong support system. We try to be that really
strong community support piece that allows women to flourish and be a part of their community” McCallister said.

New Hope is different than similar resources in the Omaha community in that they receive no government money.
This allows flexibility in how they work with the women and their length of stay. According to McCallister, the women at
New Hope have continually expressed how safe they feel at New Hope. New Hope cultivates a very honoring and safe community to heal. In addition, New Hope allows residents to stay at the home for free during the first 30 days of the program to get back on their feet.

“There are a lot of kinds of halfway houses in town, and we don’t fit into a nice cubby-hole description. We hear people say all that time that if you really want to change, come to New Hope. It’ll be hard, but this is the place you want to be,” McCallister said.

To volunteer or donate to New Hope Life Center, call 402-343-HOPE (4673) or email info@newhopelifecenters.org. Sponsor
a resident during her stay at New Hope, donate care packages or housing supplies, or volunteer in the correctional facility. New Hope has opportunities for groups who want to serve just one time or individuals who want to volunteer for a committed amount of time! All are welcome and greatly appreciated.