Category: Newsletter

“Hopewell was a beautiful place to celebrate recovery,” Tom said. “I enjoy remembering the work I did and what I learned. I am more diligent in my creative endeavors, and I am a happier person.”

Nearly 20 years ago, at age 7, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was experiencing a set of symptoms that overlapped with that mental illness. In retrospect, this was a misdiagnosis. Today we know these symptoms were early signs of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and a dissociative disorder.

Christina was featured in our 2018 summer newsletter, having arrived at Hopewell in 2016. She had been living with 17 other sisters as a nun at the Monastery of Blessed Sacrament on Cleveland’s west side and was experiencing extreme bouts of anger and depression. After trying two other mental health facilities, she fell in love with Hopewell and the art therapy program, where she discovered her creative side.

After experiencing an episode of psychosis, Jonathan arrived at Hopewell in 2017. For many of his previous treatments, he struggled to find the right psychiatric medication. During his ten-month stay at Hopewell, he found solace in the community and being able to “get better with his peers.” Thankfully, Dr. Martha Schinagle, a Hopewell psychiatrist, was also able to help him find a medication regimen that was low on side effects and high on symptom reduction.

Questions regarding Hopewell’s outcomes research? Please read our 2020 Outcomes Report.

In 2015, after three stays in mental health facilities in less than a year, a doctor suggested Dana should be in a long-term residential facility. Dana said, “I took a deep breath, summoned every ounce of courage and vulnerability I had and took the plunge. I signed myself up for three months at Hopewell. Those three months turned into six months, which turned into me regaining control of my life in a way I never thought possible.”

Throughout 2021, Hopewell will celebrate twenty-five years of service to adults with serious mental illness. The first resident was welcomed to the farm on February 3, 1996.

Since October 2020, Hopewell residents have had the opportunity to enter our Transition Program in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood. This program provides discharged residents with a new, highly effective plan to transition to more independent living in the community, using the skills they acquired while at Hopewell.

“Hopewell gave me the day-to-day tools to integrate back into society and provided me with the skills I needed to live independently.”

Please read Hopewell’s 2019 Outcomes Report