Recently, rumors began circulating stating that the Mission of Hope, located in Hardy was slated for closure, but according to long-time volunteer Susan Jett this is not the case.
“We are not closing, we are not closed, and we do not have any plans to. What has happened since COVID hit is our volunteers are in short supply so our hours are reduced,” Jett said.
Hope’s Closet, the thrift store associated with the Mission of Hope, is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. unless inclement weather forces closures.
“We hold our food bank in a drive-through format every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon [unless weather disallows volunteers to safely travel to and serve the public],” Jett said.
Another question that has been raised is whether or not the organization is still receiving donations and Jett said, this is still the case. “We take donations Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until about 12 noon because that is when we are able to do it right now,” Jett said.
When asked to clarify the confusion about the rumor of closure, Jett said the Mission continues to operate, however, a combination of the temporary closure of the men’s shelter and reduced hours may have caused confusion. “We have changed a couple of things, we do have a big social media online yard sale presence on Facebook Marketplace and on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MissionofHope2003) and those sales are by appointment to look at the items in the building. We do a lot on the marketplace. We will make an appointment to meet you if it’s not during regular hours,” Jett said.
Jett said the men’s shelter located at the mission was forced to close last year when COVID hit. “We know it concerned a lot of people when we closed it in April, but we couldn’t keep the guys safe. We do have plans to re-open the men’s shelter in the future and have discussed it,” Jett said.
The volunteers and board had discussed re-opening the shelter, but when COVID numbers began to rise again, for the safety of the volunteers and those who would stay at the shelter, there has not been a date placed on the re-opening yet.
For more information about the Mission of Hope, inquiries about ways to volunteer and more, contact the Mission of Hope at 870-856-5511.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
