What is Your Success Rate?

Success: “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”

One of the most common questions our staff receives at Hope Street is what is your success rate. It is a valid question - people want to understand if Hope Street “works”. The difficulty behind this question is that there is no easy answer because what does success even mean? If we are to use the definition above, it says that success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. So what is Hope Street’s purpose and how do we know if it is accomplished?

Part of Hope Street’s mission is to “cultivate a nurturing community in which we can live, learn and develop new habits that help people flourish.” The key word there is flourish. Our goal at Hope Street is to provide the environment and resources for our members to grow! Break that down even more - people can grow in a number of ways. Growth can look like getting a job, regaining custody of one’s child, paying off past debts, ending a toxic relationship with a friend or significant other, or maybe even engaging in the community by taking part in a class. If growth is the overall accomplishment we are hoping for our members to experience, then there’s your success! Easily defined yet difficult to measure. Everyone has their own form of growth.

Lord, today I ask that we all take a moment to see the many ways we have all grown. May we not compare our growth to another but truly see the good in all our growth no matter “big or small”. May you remind us of the beauty in that growth even when it sometimes requires the removal of people or things from our lives. Lord, I am just so thankful for Hope Street - for this building, for this team, for the members, volunteers, donors and all those who play a role in making this space one where we can all grow thanks to your glory and thanks to your goodness.

Amen,

Brooke