WHO WE ARE
About HIM
Hope Inspired Ministries (HIM) was founded in Montgomery, Alabama in January of 2012, to serve unemployed individuals by preparing and equipping them to obtain, maintain, and excel at employment. Results from the original program demonstrated that even the most marginalized men and women of a community can become self-supporting, productive citizens. HIM then replicated the original Montgomery model in Birmingham in 2017, and in Lowndes County in 2020 to make three community sites.
HIM also partners with organizations around the state to implement the HIM program for their participants. The first partnership started with The Foundry Ministries in Bessemer in 2019, where the Birmingham staff taught class on Saturdays. HIM then began a partnership with the Department of Youth Services at Mount Meigs in 2021, teaching full-time in their juvenile detention center. HIM’s partnership with The Foundry Ministries grew in 2022 when the transition was made to full-time services and HIM’s curriculum became a required piece of The Foundry Ministries’s program. In 2023, this was expanded to The Foundry Farm in Cullman. HIM also started a partnership with the Lowndes County Board of Education in 2023 which brought dedicated HIM staff into Lowndes County’s two public high schools to teach the HIM curriculum to all seniors in each school. Today, these campuses are multiplying the life change transformations of the original campus.
HIM developed a curriculum that incorporates the structure and accountability of a workplace, and also wrapped it with empathy and compassion to equip individuals to escape the hopelessness and despair found in a lifetime of poverty.
The HIM staff meets students where they are. HIM helps students hit the reset button on their lives by developing employment and life skills that will lead them to self-sufficiency. HIM introduces a way of life that fosters the development of the emotional, physical, and spiritual maturity in each student.
HIM helps students unpack a lifetime of negative thoughts and behaviors to rebuild and transform into confident adults with the feelings of self-worth they need to set and accomplish goals they never dreamed they could achieve. Graduates leave the program feeling more confident of their ability to shape not only their own lives, but also to participate in the communities where they live.
Due to strict structure and accountability, 45-50% of the students who enroll complete the course. However, 85-90% of HIM graduates find employment.
Vision, Mission, Values, and Inspiration
Vision
To help individuals break the grip of poverty.
Mission
Hope Inspired Ministries serves unemployed individuals by preparing and equipping them to obtain, maintain, and excel at employment.
Values
Faith: We believe in God and His power to change lives.
Family: We foster a sense of belonging and encouragement of restored relationships.
Passion: Our energy inspires, engages, and motivates others.
Excellence: We challenge ourselves to continuous learning, accuracy, attention to detail, stewardship of resources, and kindness in relationships.
Inspiration
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you , plans to give you hope and a future.“
– Jeremiah 29:11
HIM Program and Curriculum
While the HIM program is open to anyone that is 18 years old or older with a willingness to work, the majority of recruiting efforts are targeted to marginalized individuals in lower-income communities and neighborhoods. HIM also partners with homeless shelters in each location to serve individuals experiencing homelessness in an effort to help those individuals break free from the grips of poverty.
The foundation of the HIM curriculum is the Alabama Career Essentials (ACE) program. ACE is a no-cost training course designed by the Alabama Community College System to provide Alabamians with relevant, cutting-edge, and industry-driven employability skills training to better prepare individuals for the Alabama workforce. Individuals who complete the ACE program receive the ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate and an Alabama Certified Employee Certificate. These certificates are proof that an individual is equipped with the skills necessary to enter a 21st-century Alabama workforce and individuals with these certificates are highly sought-after by Alabama employers.
In addition to the certificates, those who are interested in furthering their education receive one no-cost college course, and accumulated credit hours for one class when enrolled at one of the state’s community colleges. This assistance can play a big role in kickstarting an individual’s journey into post-secondary or technical education.
On top of the ACE curriculum, HIM incorporates an important relational aspect to remove barriers that individuals may face in their employment search. These barriers may include the need to develop soft skills such as issues with confidence, unidentified passions, or relating to people with different personalities.
Support Provided to HIM Students
HIM’s team of career coaches work with students to provide resources to assist in removing more tangible barriers such as legal issues, or lack of resources which may include identification documentation, food, housing, clothing, or transportation. With this in mind, HIM partners with other organizations and businesses in each of HIM’s locations to streamline that process.
All HIM students are given the opportunity to receive professional clothing at no cost to them, which will then be worn to job interviews and sometimes their new places of employment. To combat food insecurity, all HIM students are also eligible for a $50 per week SNAP benefit stipend and receive lunch every day while in the classroom.
HIM’s Montgomery and Birmingham community campuses are on a bus line and provide daily bus passes to those who need to use public transportation, while HIM’s Lowndes County community campus has a 16-passenger van that will pick up individuals who do not have their own transportation. HIM’s Lowndes County community campus is also piloting a partnership with the Alabama Department of Commerce to assist HIM students with childcare, so that individuals can ensure that their children are healthy and safe while being part of the program.
Demographics of Population Served
HIM serves the unemployed adult population, ages 18+ and tracks detailed demographics on students. Below is a summary of 2022 data, based on interviews of students admitted into the program. The numbers are aggregated across all geographic sites.
- Age Range: the majority of students fall between the ages of 35-54 (44%)
- Ethnicity: African American 52%, white 46%, Hispanic 1%, Native Amer. 1%, Asian 1%
- Gender: Male 60%, Female 40%
- Current Living Conditions: 13% live with family, 25% in a shelter, 15% in a house, 10% in an apartment, 3% with a friend, 5% homeless, 30% other
- Marital Status: 71% single, 9% married, 6% separated, 14% divorced
- Mental Health Diagnosis: 28% yes, 72% no
- Addiction: 67% yes, 33% no
- Conviction of crime: 59% yes, 41% no
- Previously incarcerated: 63% yes, 37% no
