My name is Elonda Wilson,  Co-Founder of Home of Purpose Empowerment (HOPE AZ), LLC. I was born and raised in Hartford, CT in a low-income household. I have witnessed the experience of suffering from mental illness and substance abuse addiction.

 

Trying to navigate the system for assistance on behalf of loved ones has been difficult. I've watched them suffer through the process of desperately seeking help to live a healthy, happy, and productive life.

 

Some of the challenges with accessing the appropriate help include lack of funding, no beds available in the inpatient programs, lack of subsequent services needed after the release from inpatient treatment, or no programs that meet the unique needs of individuals.

This is why it is my desire to help fill some of the gaps in the system where treatment is either unavailable or started but ended short of the individual achieving optimal healing; sending the individual right back to where they failed before.

 

The goal of HOPE AZ is to help re-write the story of individuals who are in a cycle similar to the following:

• suffering from mental illness and/or substance abuse addiction,

• getting help, becoming stable/clean,

• going back to the environment they came from unequipped,

• stopping their treatment and/or taking their prescribed medication, 

• relapsing

• start the process over again either through hospitalization, jail, or worse.