By Keighla Schmidt, Correspondent

“You can’t have a House of Hope if you don’t have a house,” said Amy Jants, co-founder and president of House of Hope Twin Cities.

House of Hope is a Christian organization reaching out to teenagers struggling with various problems through residential and outpatient therapy. Jants is looking to open a house in the south-metro area.

Jants, of Burnsville, may know the need for a home better than others. A few years ago Jants’ teenage daughter Amanda was a high schooler struggling with life. Amy had turned over many rocks looking to help her aching daughter when she finally found relief in House of Hope Minnesota.House of Hope: The mother-daughter
pair of Amanda (left) and Amy Jants is
working to open a franchise Christian
home, House of Hope, for struggling
teenagers in the south-metro area.
Amanda, who is a graduate of the House
of Hope of Minnesota, motivated her
mother to start the program and find a
home.

After seeing the success Amanda had, Amy took the steps to be an affiliate of the national organization House of Hope. For the past few years, Amy and Amanda have been trying to open a house in the south metro area.

 “There is definitely a demand here,” Amy said. “I can’t be the only mom in the area who had a struggling teenager.”

Before the demand can be met, however, a house is needed.

“Ideally, we would have a house donated to us,” she said.

The “ideal” house would have at least three bedrooms large enough to house two teenagers each, office space, a large kitchen, an open lower level for home-school classes and a large, open living area for visiting family members.

The home would be somewhere in the south-metro areas of Savage, Prior Lake, Burnsville or Apple Valley.

If that doesn’t pan out, Amy said the rocky housing market might help them make lemonade from lemons.

“For us, the housing market is great – we could get a larger home for a smaller amount of money,” she said. “We’d love to get a foreclosed home … we’d have to show the bank that we have money and reliable donors, first.” 

Local support for a home of refuge came in the form of about $4,200 raised at a banquet and silent auction on Nov. 7 at the McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center in Savage.

“It was wonderful, some people really stepped up and donated money,” Amy said.

The money will go toward the purchase of a home or updating the home to meet state-required codes, Amy said.

Amanda’s story

Just days before Amanda turned 18, she became one of the first residents at the House of Hope Minnesota home in Marshall.

Amanda, who has three brothers, unsuccessfully tried finding her stride at many different high schools. She would often skip classes and eventually slipped into a rebellious depression.

 “I was in such a dark place,” the now 21-year-old said. “I had this sweatshirt that I would wear everyday. It was black, the edges were ratty, the sleeves were worn … I would just hide in that all the time.”

After Amanda spent some time in the hospital after suicide attempts, Amy knew something needed to change.

They tried other schools, other programs and even other residential homes to help Amanda, but to no avail. Then, the family came across House of Hope.

 “I basically stalked House of Hope to get Amanda in,” Amy recalled.

As a “stereotypical suburban family” Amy said she and her family belonged to a church and were active in their community, but there were a lot of issues that need to be resolved.

Part of the House of Hope equation requires parents and families to be involved in the therapeutic process. Students work their way through the program and are allowed to have dinner out of the home with their family and progress to spending a few consecutive days at home before coming back to their therapeutic home.  

Amy and her husband had separated while Amanda was away but eventually got remarried.

“There are just things that need to be faced,” she said. “This forces people to take those things, work on them, and then get better.”

Amanda said an effective aspect of the program from her perspective was the focus on becoming independent. “I needed to stay put,” she said. “The goal was independent living.”

Being a House of Hope resident meant following a structured routine. Mornings were orchestrated to allow time for all residents to get their chance in the bathroom. The teens would make breakfast together and have morning devotions before going to classes in the house. Lunch would be made together and then they would either be off on a field trip or have more afternoon classes. Evenings were spent making dinner and doing other activities. Two nights a week were dedicated to the family visits. Everything throughout the day had a Christ-centric theme.

Amanda spent just over a year as a resident. The therapy, focus on Christian beliefs and desire to get better were all factors in her healing.

“I wanted to get better, I wanted to be there,” she said.

She took courses to finish her high school degree as a Post-Secondary Education Option (PSEO) student at Normandale. After that, she enrolled in Bethel College and lived in the dorm.

It was a big swing from skipping classes all the time to dedicating the majority of her time to studies.

Her daughter’s breakthrough motivated Amy to try to help other teens.

“I know the success of House of Hope,” Amy said. “I saw it in Amanda and I saw it in other students. The process works.”

Which is part of why she wants to bring it here.

Amy recalled that in addition to being a Christian organization, having a program relatively close to home was something that made the decision to move Amanda into the House of Hope home easier.

Having one in the south metro area will help more local teenagers.

Aside from a home, Amy said there are many other things the organization needs. The list includes: volunteers, an office, computer, office supplies, gift cards and funding to get materials for a home-school program.

To help or for more information, contact Amy at (952) 223-4075 or visit www.hohtc.org. The group meets the second Tuesday of each month for prayer and dessert; call (952) 994-2943 to participate.

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at (952) 345-6371 or kschmidt@swpub.com.