One in three adults living with disabilities have an unmet
healthcare need. Hope House works to ensure that people
receive the compassionate care they deserve.

One in three adults living with disabilities have an unmet healthcare need. Hope House works to ensure that people receive the compassionate care they deserve.

Hope House of St. Croix Valley was founded in 1991 by two St. Croix Valley residents, Teresa and Casey VanderBent. Their research on AIDS housing found that people living with AIDS were an almost invisible group receiving the least amount of services in Washington County and that Minnesotans with AIDS had few housing opportunities. In April 1991, a Board of Directors was formed, reflecting the organization’s strong community support. Hope House of St. Croix Valley was incorporated on May 7, 1991 and welcomed its first client on December 3, 1993..Fast forward to summer 2021, coupled with a new awareness about how to maneuver a pandemic, and a deeper understanding of, and an organizational commitment to developing programming that further embraced diversity, inclusion, and equity we decided as an organization to tackle our future through reevaluating our mission and developing an inspirational vision that intentionally made space for accelerated growth and greater impact.

After multiple meetings and much reflection, the Board and Staff created a new mission from “providing a nonjudgmental home with compassionate care that respects the dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS” to Hope House will “provide people experiencing life-changing health challenges access to compassionate care that respects their dignity and choices.” Coupled with a new vision “a future where all people have access to programs and services to live their best life!”.

“The new Mission and Vision Statements of Hope House reflect the strong leadership the organization currently enjoys and highlight two guiding principles: the continuation of our founding mission to provide a home for people living with HIV/AIDS, an effort that has brought decades of hope, compassion, and acceptance to over 93 residents and their families, and the launching of new programming that will vastly expand our reach by helping more people with a wider variety of needs…effectively delivering that same hope, compassion, and acceptance out to people who wish to remain in the home of their choice,” states Casey VanderBent, 2021-22 Board Chair.

Hope House of St. Croix Valley was founded in 1991 by two St. Croix Valley residents, Teresa and Casey VanderBent. Their research on AIDS housing found that people living with AIDS were an almost invisible group receiving the least amount of services in Washington County and that Minnesotans with AIDS had few housing opportunities. In April 1991, a Board of Directors was formed, reflecting the organization’s strong community support. Hope House of St. Croix Valley was incorporated on May 7, 1991 and welcomed its first client on December 3, 1993..Fast forward to summer 2021, coupled with a new awareness about how to maneuver a pandemic, and a deeper understanding of, and an organizational commitment to developing programming that further embraced diversity, inclusion, and equity we decided as an organization to tackle our future through reevaluating our mission and developing an inspirational vision that intentionally made space for accelerated growth and greater impact.

After multiple meetings and much reflection, the Board and Staff created a new mission from “providing a nonjudgmental home with compassionate care that respects the dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS” to Hope House will “provide people experiencing life-changing health challenges access to compassionate care that respects their dignity and choices.” Coupled with a new vision “a future where all people have access to programs and services to live their best life!”.