Dawn's New Car through Wheels4Hope

Do you remember the moment you received your new car? Can you feel the emotions that went through you that day? Were you excited you now would be able to travel to places around town with more ease? Last Thursday Wheels4Hope in Raleigh held a car blessing ceremony for one of our Housing for New Hope clients, Dawn. Our Housing for New Hope’s Marketing Manager, Matt, traveled over that morning to witness and Facebook Live the event.

Watch the Facebook Live stream here!

Wheels4Hope is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that receives donated cars from the community and repairs them for sale. Their mission is to provide affordable, reliable transportation to economically vulnerable families and individuals who are referred by partner agencies, like Housing for New Hope. Wheels4Hope has over 25 volunteer mechanics who repair and inspect every donated car. These experienced mechanics do not let a car go out on the road until all inspections pass and make the car run like new again. Believing in the principle of ownership and with a commitment to partnership, Wheels4Hope requires recipients, like Dawn, to pay $500 for their car and be responsible for title and transfer fees.

Our client, Dawn, had lost her home, her job, her car, and experienced the pain of homelessness. Dawn reached out to Housing for New Hope for a new chance at stability. She was offered a spot in our Rapid Re-Housing program, which assists families and individuals impacted by homelessness to quickly move back into a home of their own. With her hard work, the help and support of our donors and Housing for New Hope staff she was able to get back on her feet, find employment, and become self-sufficient again. As a client of Housing for New Hope she was referred to Wheels4Hope to help her with transportation. After Wheels4Hope received her application, fee, and attended an orientation, and a short wait period, she found out she would be a recipient of a 1999 Honda Accord.

The car blessing ceremony was an uplifting event with the entire Wheels4Hope staff in attendance as well as a few of our Housing for New Hope staff members. With everything Dawn went through experiencing homelessness, everybody was ecstatic to see her doing so well now. Dawn went through many emotions during the ceremony, but happiness and excitement were on top. “I’m so grateful that you have this program to help us. It takes a community to help a community”. Dawn couldn’t wait to jump in the car to drive it back to her home.

Dawn will now be able to commute to work, the store, and around the city easier, allowing her to grow more self-sufficient. Housing for New Hope and Wheels4Hope both congratulate Dawn on her journey.

Watch the Facebook Live stream here!