Latest on KHOH

Oct. 22, 2023

Thank you to everyone who helped make our masquerade gala a huge success, especially Oswego Elks Lodge, Oswego County Federal Credit Union, The Richard S. Shineman Foundation, Dr. Michael Nupuf, and iHeartOswego.

More than 200 people attended in person for a night of thanks, tears, and inspiration. To our staff, volunteers, friends, and family who helped make it a night to remember, our most heartfelt thank you.

For the full photo album (thank you to iHeartOswego and others for the photos), click here.

We are so grateful for the support of our community to honor and help the women at Kristina’s House of Hope. See you next year!

May 11, 2023

We recently passed the two and a half-year mark of opening our doors at Kristina’s House of Hope. Our growth and success would not be possible without your help, especially:

  • The Department of Social Services, who ensures we assist those who need it the most. The funding you provide is crucial to the care of each woman who comes to KHOH while we provide them with a safe, clean place to live and guide them as they rebuild their lives.
  • Oswego County Opportunities, for the variety of transitional living programs we use to ensure each woman who comes to KHOH becomes a stronger, more independent person and functional member of the Oswego community.
  • The local community of Oswego, particularly the case managers and support staff of Catholic Charities of Oswego County. We are proud to have a strong working relationship and your support.
  • The Richard S. Shineman Foundation and board for their contributions and for helping us show KHOH is a valuable asset to the community. 
  • Burke’s Do It Best Home Center for providing us affordable insulation, siding, and other supplies that ensured the women living in the KHOH homes were warm this past winter.
  • Our donors, particularly the Fulton Elk’s Club, Oswego County Federal Credit Union, Fulton Savings Bank, Oswego Price Chopper, and a few individuals and groups. Thank you for your time, money, and efforts to raise awareness and support for KHOH. And thank you for the donations that have helped us furnish and maintain our homes.
  • Our landlords and handymen (and women!) who lend a helping hand anytime something breaks. Words cannot express our gratitude for the time you dedicate to KHOH.
  • All of YOU – everyone who believes in KHOH’s mission and vision and is dedicated to our success.

Our Routine:

  • KHOH welcomes women from all walks of life. Homelessness encompasses all sorts of situations, and we strive to make each woman feel welcomed and supported during her time at KHOH and beyond.
  • When we receive a new tenant, we work with her to develop a program tailored to her unique needs. Each woman is provided all hygiene products and toiletries, a few personal clothing items and outfits, and her wardrobe is supplemented with the bins of gently used clothing donated to KHOH. Our goal is to create a kind and caring atmosphere to welcome each woman and make her feel valued as a human being.
  • Our daily routine provides the women under our care with structure so they can develop their sense of responsibility and commitment. During their stay, the women work on establishing a routine balanced with responsibilities and positive, healthy extracurricular activities they enjoy.
  • Our day begins with a positive reading and group discussion, daily chores, and staff aiding in setting up medical appointments. The women are required to establish routine medical care to include a primary care physician, dentist, vision, and other specialists, as required.
  • Those in recovery are required to attend 12-step meetings and outpatient services.
  • Each woman works toward employment and/or continuing education, depending on her needs.
  • Our women enjoy community activities such as bowling, picnics at the beach and outdoor barbeques, visiting the lighthouse, going to the movies, and doing arts and crafts. We also planted a garden at KHOH, which has taught the women patience and appreciation. Each woman has the opportunity to attend mental health classes, trauma yoga therapy, Bible study, and church if desired.
  • The women ready to move on from KHOH are given assistance with applications for low-income apartments, paperwork for financial assistance to subsidize rent payments for an apartment, and one of our staff accompanies them when they look for an apartment within their price range that fits their needs.
  • Our women are taught about having a properly balanced diet, which we do through cooking lessons and by assisting with grocery shopping. We have dinner together at 5:30 p.m. to provide consistency and a family atmosphere to provide the women with love, kindness, and caring while also providing a gentle, balanced structure.
  • Our family-like structure works to enhance or begin a routine that she will take with her once she leaves KHOH for her own apartment, where she will begin life anew.

Our Success:

  • We’ve had women from a verity of circumstances. Approximately 75 percent have moved forward into apartments and new life’s.
  • We have an eight-bedroom house set up as the KHOH shelter to provide immediate assistance to displaced women, and the smaller house next door allows these women to rent a bedroom in a home with a shared common area as part of a graduated system to reintroduce them to society.
  • We foster a close-knit familial environment between the women, and the support they receive from the local community teaches them basic life skills underpinned with a code of morals and values.
  • The tools and education our women receive improve their mental health, self-esteem, and self-confidence while creating healthy boundaries. Once they leave our care, we ensure they are set up for success by assisting with apartment furnishings and providing a support system they can rely on at any point after departing KHOH. Moving into a home and knowing you have people to reach out to is vital to their success.

Our Future:

  • We understand each woman is unique and has different needs. KHOH and the local community work together to build a specially tailored program to assist each woman with her individual needs. We all want to be loved and accepted, and it is our mission at KHOH to provide immediate assistance to displaced and/or homeless women who are struggling. We provide them with a safe, stable home to live in and the structure they need to be successful, functional members of society. With your continued support, I know we will find even more success in the coming years.
  • That leads me to our big fundraising event this year: we are hosting a gala in October! More details will follow soon, so keep an eye out!

With my most heartfelt thanks,

Shelly Spaziano, President and Founder, Kristina’s House of Hope