Community Hope Expands Six-fold
Since 2001, Community Hope’s residential programs have expanded six-fold. Today, more than 300 individuals are benefiting from supported housing where our counselors empower individuals to continue their recovery from mental illness and rejoin the workforce, family and community life. This expansion has been made possible in large part by private contributions and public grants averaging $1 million in each of the last three fiscal years.

Founder Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Carmela Lunt, Community Hope Founder and President, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Behavioral Healthcare in April 2009. Ms. Lunt has spent her lifetime advocating on behalf of individuals recovering from mental illness and substance abuse by providing housing and services in a dignified, respectful, and "person-centered" way.

Agency Honored as Outstanding Provider
Community Hope was honored with the 2009 Outstanding Provider Award from the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Inc. (NJAMHA) in April 2009. Our agency was selected from numerous exemplary nominations for consideration as Outstanding Provider. Also recognized was Community Hope Executive Director J. Michael Armstrong, who is stepping down as President of the NJAMHA Board after two terms. He received NJAMHA’s 2009 Leadership Award.

Hope for Veterans Housing Program Expansion Completed
Completion of the expansion of the Hope for Veterans Program occurred this past year and the transitional housing facility now has a capacity to serve 95 homeless veterans daily. Since opening in September 2004 as the largest program for homeless veterans in New Jersey and the Tri-State area, Hope for Veterans has served more than 300 former servicemen and servicewomen.

In support of our homeless veterans, the Somerset Hills YMCA has helped raise more than $25,000 for the expanded facility at this year’s Flag Day 5K Run, scheduled for June 11, 2009. We also are pleased to announce that we were recently awarded conditional approval to develop this project. The plan is to develop a “mini-village” on a vacant parcel of land on the Lyons VA campus near the Hope for Veterans Program.

The 90 units of two-story apartments and townhouses will be the first permanent supportive housing development in New Jersey for homeless veterans, those at-risk of homelessness as a result of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and physical disabilities incurred in combat with their own affordable apartments plus on-campus support services.

CHOICE Program Slated for Further Expansion
We are again planning to expand CHOICE Independent-Living in order to meet the unmet demand for permanent, affordable housing linked to services. If we are successful in helping people progress through our housing continuum, then it is essential that we provide this permanent housing opportunity so that as individuals recover they can sustain independent living with access to services. We are in the process of selecting a site to expand CHOICE to serve as many as six additional low-income disabled individuals. Funding for the acquisition of this additional residence will be through the $175,000 we have secured in Federal HOME grant funding from the County of Morris.

Development of a Permanent Housing Complex for Homeless Veterans
In partnership with a private developer, we have recently been awarded conditional approval by the Veterans Administration to develop permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. The plan is to develop a “mini-village” on a vacant parcel of land on the Lyons VA campus near the Hope for Veterans Program. The 90 units of two-story apartments and townhouses will provide homeless veterans, those at-risk of homelessness as a result of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and physical disabilities incurred in combat with their own affordable apartments plus on-campus support services.