Serving as mentor at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correction Complex during her time as a student at Howard Payne University, Chassidy Machmeier discovered a need for the girls there upon their departure.

The decision to attempt to aid those girls in their path toward a better life resulted in the creation in 2008 of Hope Home Ministry, a faith-based transitional home that provides opportunities for young women to have their lives restored as they learn life-skills and work toward independence in a safe home environment.

“A couple of friends and I were talking about it and the Lord just gave us this idea to open a home here locally where the girls could come and be safe, learn about the Lord and also learn life skills and have the opportunity to move forward,” Machmeier said. “That’s how Hope Home got started.”

Reflecting further on the origin of Hope Home, Machmeier stated, “When I graduated from Howard Payne in 2008, we mentoring out at the juvenile correctional complex here and saw the really sad situation those girls were in. Most of them had grown in abusive environments or difficult situations in unsafe communities or with unsafe families. They would get in trouble as they got older and sent to the juvenile detention center.”

She continued, “While in there a lot of people would invest in them and there were mentors and churches in the community, a lot of people who were going out and showing them there was a different way, they could have a good life, and teaching them about the Lord. The kids would start to change, get their education and start making better decisions with hopes and dreams for the future. But when they got out, they would be sent right back into the environments they came out of, so they were being set up for failure. Personally working with some girls out there on an individual basis, I had my heart broken over and over again and wondered why there wasn’t a better place for these girls to go once they’re released. They deserved a fresh start and a chance to do good things in the future.”

Machmeier has served as program director since the inception of Hope Home in 2008.

“I was the house mother in the home for 14 years,” she said. “I adopted two girls and then got married so I’m not living on site anymore, but I’m continuing as the program director. It’s been a big journey of faith and a big blessing in my life to get to serve this way.”

Throughout the years Hope Home has also worked with the foster care system and anti-human trafficking agencies.

“We started working with kids that were either at the end of their foster care journey or were transitioning out of foster care and didn’t have a safe place to go,” she said. “Statistically one in five foster youth become homeless the day they turn 18, so we had a burden for that as well and wanted to make sure those kids had a place to transition and not end up on the streets.

“Since the beginning we’ve also worked with human trafficking victims, and that’s something that we focus on more now. We work with different agencies around the state of Texas who do anti-trafficking work and they will place girls here with us to ensure they’re in a safe place.”

Hope Home is smaller organization, focusing on fewer than 20 females at a time.

“It’s more like a family feel than an institution, so we invest in a few girls at a time and really remain connected with them for the rest of their lives if they want us to,” Machmeier said. “We have a handful of girls who have been through our program that we remain connected with. We help them with their children, celebrate birthdays, celebrate marriages and continue to provide a support system for them after they transition out of the home. They don’t often have healthy families supporting them as they grow and become independent.”

Machmeier stated the long-term growth of the girls who pass through Hope Home is what has brought her the most joy throughout the organization’s 15 years.

“It’s not really an overnight transformation for a lot of our girls, but having the opportunity to plant seeds and watch them grow over time and watch the Lord do his work in people’s lives, see who they were meant to be and how that plays our later down the line for them is really rewarding,” she said.

Machmeier adopted two girls and was married a year ago. Her family is heavily involved with Midtown Church.

As for the future of Hope Home, Machmeier said. “We always need more volunteers and more financial support. We are hosting our Fourth Annual Night of Hope in November this year. It will be be at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church. We’ll have a guest speaker and a formal evening with a dinner. Be looking out for ticket sales and sponsorships for that. We’d love for people to attend.”