A Tribute to Hope

When our son was about fourteen, we began to see signs of problems. His grades fell, he no longer played sports, he hung out with kids who got in trouble. We tried to cope by talking with him, giving him rewards and punishments, and sending him to a counselor. Astonishingly, we considered ourselves well informed about kids and drugs, and we did not think that was the problem!

Things got worse. There was evidence of drinking and drug use, but we thought these were just occasional episodes. Our son promised not to use again. We tried a different high school. Then we tried another different high school. At last we became convinced that drugs were a significant part of the problem. We took our son to a hospital and signed him in. A week later we took him home.

Then we went to the Hope Institute. Yes, the family had to be involved -- three nights per week, just like the kids. Over two years we learned a lot more about drug abuse, and our family learned to talk together better. Our son's downhill slide stopped. He graduated high school. We were cautiously hopeful.

As a result of too much freedom too soon, however, another disaster occurred in our son's life. Thank God there were no serious injuries. Now we knew. Aided by consultation with the Hope Staff, we were able to find a residential, sober living program for our son. We gave him a choice between the program and the street. He lived there nine months, and now has 18 months sober. Things are not perfect, but his life is back on track.

I don't think this would have happened without the Hope Institute. In so many ways they have taught us, supported us, and have always been there when we were in need. Our thanks to Ira, Karen, Ted, Debbie, Francine, and all the Hope family!

...A grateful parent

 

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Center For Recovery and Education, Inc.

The Hope Institute

Testimonials

We are always looking to those of you involved with The Hope Institute in the past to let us know how we may have helped you in your life's journey.  Obviously, we at Hope thrill to the successes we read about. More importantly, your comments are read by those who may be looking to use our programs in the future or contribute financially to our often-uncertain future.  Send us your testimonial so that we can put it here to motivate us and for others to read.

Allison:

This note is just to describe all the good Hope has done for me:

I came to know Karen & Ira at Hope when I was 15. When they met me I was broken down and just newly sober. I had been to other treatment centers, but none that compare to the compassion and persistence that The Hope Institute gave. Karen & Ira helped me to walk through my fears and unmask some of my deepest, darkest secrets.

In doing so, I was able to let go of very hurtful things I had been carrying around since early childhood. They helped me work through the fear and hate that I had felt for so long.

Now I'am 22 and I have been sober for over 7 years. I still visit Hope every other Tuesday to check in with them. They have made a lot of us kids a "home" there that we continually go back to. We are able to be involved in panels and events that allow the alumni to give back what we have learned to the children that are going through the same thing now.

The Hope Institute is exactly what the name states. It gives families back what they thought they lost... HOPE.

Please help. Please do not let them close.

Carol & Steve:

What does Hope Institute mean to me? It means everything to me and to my family. With the help of the competent and loving staff at The Hope Institute, our 17 year-old daughter returned to us in a much healthier and happier state.

When we arrived at Hope, our family life was in shambles. Because of our daughter’s anger and depression, we were walking on eggshells. She was verbally abusive, cutting herself, isolating, doing poorly in school and running away from home. She was struggling with her self-esteem and had difficulty fitting in at school.

After 18 months of a combination of day program, day and night program and eventually only night program, her mental and social health was restored. Not only does The Hope Institute focus on the health and well-being of the child, but they also work with the family in order to bring about results.

Their program is unique in that they provide intensive peer group therapy for the student, support and education for the parents, and individual and family therapy sessions. This is not just a “fix-the-child” program. It focuses not just on the needs of the child, but also the needs of the parents, the siblings, and extended family. For those students that need it, there is also an academic education program available.

The Hope Institute even has a plan to help the child with their transition back into the “real world”. Our daughter attends an alumni support group which helps her to remember all of the tools that she learned while she attended Hope. Now that our daughter is back in public school, she is more focused on her future. She no longer runs away from home. She no longer argues with us. She likes who she is and where she is going. She will complete high school in the spring. She is attending cosmetology school part time. Our home life is so much better than before Hope, that I can’t imagine where we would be if we hadn’t had their help. Our daughter would probably be on the street somewhere, or worse.

That would be a nightmare that I can’t even contemplate. We have our creative, independent and loving girl back in our lives. No price can be put on that! Thank you Ira, Karen, Nancy and Ted.

Meg:

I am writing to let you know what an incredible asset The Hope Institute is to our community. Hope made a huge impact on our daughter, and our family as a whole. The Hope Institute helped us to see that we could get through the times of trial we faced, and we could once again have a happy, loving family. To understand more fully, you need to hear our story.

When our daughter was in 7th grade, she was molested by the father of one of her friends. To cope, she turned to running away, participating in illegal activities, and forayed into the world of drugs. At that point, we knew of no local programs that could help our daughter. We floundered for awhile, then thought our only option was to send her out of state to a program that we hoped would give her the guidance, support, and therapy she needed.

All we wanted was to see our daughter smile once again, and become a productive member of society. After a year in that program, she had made only limited progress. After hearing about The Hope Institute, we had optimism that she could get the help she needed close to home, and our family could be reunited.

The counselors at Hope are the most dedicated people I have ever met. They love and support the troubled teens and families they serve. They are available 24 hours a day, which is really important, because troubles do not occur only during 8am-5pm working hours. Words cannot express how crucial it was to our family, to have the connection and support that was so willingly given.

During these hard economic times, The Hope Institute will be needed even more. Hope offers help to adolescents suffering from depression, grief, conduct disorder, PTSD, eating disorders, sexual trauma and abuse and school problems. They also offer remarkable treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. The Hope Institute changed the lives of each member of our family. You could say it helped us find “hope” again… where there had only been despair. For this, we will be forever grateful.

A Hope Graduate:

For those of you who have never suffered from drug and alcohol abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse, and misguided thoughts you may never understand how important a place like The Hope Institute can be to our community, our growing youth, and the families across the globe can be.

Before I went to The Hope Institute I was dying, inside and out. I was a daily methamphetamine user, a daily drinker, had constant thoughts of suicide, and was heavily into self-harm. I was a 15 year old drug addict and alcoholic. I felt like no one understood me or cared. The very first moment I stepped into the doors of Hope I knew that there was such a thing as hope for me.

Every single person at The Hope Institute changed my life. They loved me until I could love myself; they showed me a new way of life. Not too many people truly see the pain and suffering of those in dire need of saving, not because they can’t but because they choose not to.

The counselors at Hope are not just people, they are life-savers and I truly believe that. If I had never gone there I almost know for a fact that I would not be alive today. They don’t just help the kids, they help families become whole again.

I write to you today to say that I am now 20 years old, will have 5 years clean and sober in May, have not harmed myself in any way in over 4 years, and I whole-heartedly love myself.

If The Hope Institute closes its doors not only will I be very sad, but I will feel like I have lost my second home. They are a very important member of our community, they have saved so many lives and it would be a true tragedy if they could not carry on doing what they all love and cherish to do. Thank you for your time and I really do hope that you have an open heart to a place so wonderful.

Jason:

This letter is to acknowledge the amazing, life-changing staff at The Hope Institute. Ted the teacher, Ted the counselor, Ira, Karen, and Nancy have impacted my life immensely to the point that I actually do have a life today.

You all have given me the skills to help me through my everyday life. I came into Hope a troubled, chemically dependent, angry boy and because of you I am now a functioning member of society.

I am now a man who has goals and character in my life. I am a man who has shifted his perception and means due to The Hope Institute.

I am now a man who can live his life one day at a time without the use of mind-altering substances. I now have three and a half years of sobriety, working full-time and going to school full-time, and no way would this be accomplished without the amazing staff at The Hope Institute. I now get to send the message that I have learned to others in need and help them through the same feelings and emotions I went through at the beginning.

Without you I would have not found peace. I would not have found serenity. I would not have found myself, and also I would not have found hope. Thank you very much.

Scott:

I'm a father of a now 20-year young woman. Just a few years ago I was fearful that I would not be able to see my “little girl” become a woman. She was absorbed into a world of serious drug use and dangerous life-threatening behaviors. Over a period of a few years she was admitted to the hospital several times for suicide attempts and deep depression. She was finally admitted into rehab for drug addiction when she was just 15 years old. She has just turned 20 years old and can proudly say she has been clean and sober for close to 5 years.

A key step to my daughter's sobriety was the time she spent with the team at The Hope Institute. They all helped her continue her high school education at the same time helping her achieve the skills needed to live a clean, sober, and productive life.

The program not only helped my daughter, but assisted the entire family. I can speak from personal experience that the professionals at Hope helped me be the type of father my daughter needed.

There is no question in my mind that our time at The Hope Institute helped us in ways we cannot express. I cannot and do not want to imagine how our lives would be without the help, assistance, and guidance we received from our friends at Hope. Please feel free to call upon me at anytime.

Patty:

I am an R.N., and my husband is a Family Practice Physician. We have raised 3 wonderful daughters in Southern California. We were your typical family until September 1996, when our youngest daughter Emily was diagnosed with Leukemia, at the age of 7. Emily courageously went through over 3 years of Chemotherapy, and survived this major challenge in her life.

In April 2006, our family life was turned up-side-down again, when Emily fought a very different battle. This time it was drugs. She was chemically dependent on the drugs that reduced her side-effects from all the chemotherapy that she had received. She was a drug addict.

Our family was in crisis again. Emily was depressed and was secretly cutting her arms. We were clueless and NEVER suspected a thing. She was an excellent student and hid her problems well. We were very fortunate that she came to my husband and I, and told us what she was doing. We were shocked, extremely sad, and didn’t know what to do.

Fortunately, through a medical referral, we found The Hope Institute in Costa Mesa, California. After an initial interview, our family started their program. What we found was an amazing team of individuals. From the administrator, to the counselors, to the day teacher, to the teacher’s aide, EVERYONE was knowledgeable, caring, tough, committed, and wonderful.

The Hope Institute treats the entire family, not just the addict. Their staff works as a team. I saw many families come and go during the year and a half that we were there. The staff worked so hard and such long hours, and I don’t know how they did it all. Their love and commitment to the kids that came through their doors was amazing, and still is. I remember that during treatment, if you or your child needed someone to talk to, no matter what day or time it was, you were (and still are) free to page any of the staff, and someone always calls you back right away. This held true, even if it was Christmas Day, or if was three o’clock in the morning.

Emily's GraduationOur family is one of the lucky ones to have discovered this wonderful place. Thanks to them, my daughter graduated from their high school program in June 2007, and she is doing very well in college. Our family is no longer in crisis. We have all learned so much from The Hope Institute–tools that will last a lifetime.

Please call me if you would like any more information regarding this wonderful place.

Maria:

Seven years ago I wasn’t a good friend, daughter, or sister. Seven years ago I didn’t trust you or myself. Seven years ago I wanted to end my life. And seven years ago, I was given “Hope”.

Many events and situations that have happened in my life contributed to my coming to The Hope Institute, however, I believe one event in particular pushed me over the edge. At the tender age of 14, I was raped and beaten in a public bathroom. This traumatic event warped my view of men and sexuality. With my self-esteem at an all-time low, I began to let my grades drop and skip school, cut and burn myself, objectify myself, party, lie, and fight at school.

To say I was depressed would be putting it lightly. When I was 16, my depression and lack of self-worth had gotten so severe that I no longer wanted to live. I was admitted into a psych ward twice by the time I was 17 years old due to multiple suicide attempts. My mom, fearing for my life, asked the psych ward social worker for recommendations for a place that could help me. This is how my journey atThe Hope Institute began.

The first day, I didn’t know what to expect. All I did know was that I didn’t want help and I didn’t want to let anyone in on the pain that was tearing me apart, or so I thought. One of the fondest memories I have is on my first day at Hope. I was sitting on the steps leading into the building, dreading what was to come. The teacher, Ted, came up to me and looked into my life-less, hollow eyes and told me that he knew for some reason that I was hurting. I was so used to people only reacting to my exterior behaviors but somehow this man was able to see the pain behind it all.

The counselors at The Hope Institute helped me work on my self-worth. They supported me and taught me the steps necessary to transition from a victim to a survivor. Karen and Ira gave me the unconditional love I wasn’t able or willing to give myself. I truly believe that I am who I am today because of them.

When I was 17 years old and still a student/client at The Hope Institute, I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and Bells Palsy. I was in Hoag Hospital ICU for quite some time since I had lost complete function of all my nerves. Once again, the counselors and my new friends at Hope were there for me every step of the way with encouragement, letters, flowers, calls, and endless amounts of love and support. Hope kept me fighting to get better. It’s ironic to think, just a year before I wanted nothing more than to end my life. However, because of Hope, I was fighting to live for the first time.

One of the afore-mentioned friends, who visited me in the hospital, was John. He came to Hope because of drug and alcohol addiction and a dysfunctional family environment. John is another success story of Hope with 7 years clean and sober. On August 19, 2007, I was honored to become his wife.

In 2003, I graduated from high school through Hope and was asked to be one of the graduation speakers. Since I completed the program atHope, my life has changed completely. I no longer view myself as an object. In May, I will have 7 years away from cutting/self-mutilation. The Hope Institute also taught me again that being “girly” didn’t mean that I was going to be a target. I went from wearing all black clothes and makeup to bright colors including my new favorite, pink.

I am now 24 years old, happily married and expecting our first child in September 2009. Because of “The Hope Institute”, John and I are better people, both together and individually. We’re both very active in our church. John serves with the clergy and I sing in the choir. I have had a steady job for 4 years and I’m currently taking weekend classes to become a medical coder.

With many rehabilitation centers you hear of people graduating the program and that ends the staff involvement in that person’s life. However, with The Hope Institute, they become more like family. Karen, Ira and Ted have attended some of the most important events in my life thus far including my high school graduation. Karen attended my bridal shower, and they all attended our wedding (Ira was even a groomsman).

John and I attend alumni meetings at The Hope Institute on many Tuesday nights. Every time I enter the doors of The Hope Institute I feel like I am in my “safe haven”. I can’t imagine my life without Hope and I sincerely hope that I will never have to.

Anthony

hope has help me so much without it i don't know where i would be right now. i know how to deal with problems and how to deal with people. it has helped me deal with my issues from my life that i couldn't of taken care of.

they helped me deal with the molestation, beatings, foster homes, and they helped me deal with not feeling good about myself and not feeling worth anything and on top of that it has helped me with my drinking. they made me realize that it's not part of my life it's just a way to cover up my real feeling and mask them with drinking.

i dont need that drink anymore to make me happy. i can make myself happy from the people around me and finally the relationship between me and my family is the best it has ever been. i couldn't stand my family. being adopted made my life complicated not knowing where i came from. hope is the one safe place i know i can go when i have a problem.