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The Washington County HOPE Center is helping James Rice succeed, one goal at a time.
“What am I gonna do? How am I going to function? How am I gonna get through the day?”
Those were the questions James Rice said he used to wake up to each morning. His life had unraveled. Before, he had a job and a home. He’d even gained custody of his two sons on June 3, 2020.
But then he lost his home when he said the owner of the property stopped paying the mortgage. And he said his boss, who encouraged him to take time off as he acclimated to life with his kids, called him three days later and fired him.
It was one thing after another—all during the pandemic. When it began, he had also been about to launch his own service company. He had to set that aside. And along with making sure his family had food and shelter, he had to contend with homeschooling, thanks to COVID.
“I was a complete mess,” he said. “I tried to find every place that I could for assistance for single dads. There’s no place. I hit the ground, crying, ‘Oh God, give me an answer.’ Then it came out of the blue—The Salvation Army.”
At a friend’s recommendation, he contacted The Salvation Army in the summer of 2021, and Josh Neal, Street Outreach Coordinator for Cascade Division, got back to him.
Rice didn’t know it yet, but he had just stumbled upon the Pathway of Hope (POH), The Salvation Army’s initiative to help families break the cycle of generational poverty and achieve goals they once only dreamed of.
Neal, who works out of the Washington County HOPE Center in Hillsboro, Oregon, helped secure housing for Rice and his two sons—housing in a school district that could meet his sons’ learning needs. Rice said those were two of his main goals.
“Then Josh said, ‘Come down to the office and meet my coworker’—and that’s how I met Cynthia,” Rice said.
Pathway of Hope Case Manager Cynthia Miguel enrolled Rice in the POH program. Working with her, Rice sets goals, plans the steps needed to reach them and then implements those steps. At weekly meetings, they review his progress and determine the next course of action.
Miguel said Rice has accomplished several self-sufficiency goals, including better transportation, career planning and employment and navigating the legal system.
In the program, Miguel implements the Herth Hope Index, a tool that measures an individual’s amount of hope, something recent studies claim has a direct correlation with success.
“It’s fun to see how The Salvation Army, in all its different aspects, is able to wrap around this family and really boost them up.”
Pathway of Hope Case Manager Cynthia Miguel
“The most prominent and impactful population was men,” Miguel said of the studies. “If they have a sustained interest, and if they have hope, they increase their chances of sustained success and long-term stability and self-sufficiency.”
Miguel and Neal encouraged Rice not to give up as he worked through some difficult obstacles, including clearing his name in the court system. Neal has remained involved with the family, providing activities like going out to eat, bowling or to the movies. Miguel said this was important— having those normalized family experiences.
Recently, Neal took them to church. He also arranged for the boys to attend The Salvation Army’s summer camp in 2023. The HOPE Center also provided the family with food boxes, Christmas presents and other services to help stretch their dollars while Rice worked to get his employment and income established.
In addition to his weekly meetings with Miguel, Rice participated in the first POH cohort of the 16-week Bridges Out of Poverty, Getting Ahead course. He grew as a leader during this time, accepting the opportunity to lead one of the class sessions.
At the course graduation, he presented his “future story”—one in which he runs a successful service business with flexible hours so he can also enjoy family time. His sons presented him with his graduation certificate.
“When I took the class, the instructor said, ‘Whatever you put into it, you’re gonna get out of it.’ And I thought, wow, this is my job. I’m going to do this,” he said. “I wanted to get as much out of it as I could.”
Miguel said a key element of Rice’s story is The Salvation Army’s continuum of care—how Rice transitioned from outreach case management to the POH program. The organization has continued to work with him even after securing the immediate need for permanent housing.
“It’s fun to see how The Salvation Army, in all its different aspects, is able to wrap around this family and really boost them up,” Miguel said.
In the POH program, when individuals complete their goals and can maintain self-sufficiency, they graduate. Miguel said this usually takes place between six to 18 months, depending on the difficulty of the barriers.
Rice is close to the finish line now, and is looking forward to his POH graduation this spring. He’s working on his GED and on establishing his service business to increase his income—the business he hoped to launch in 2020. He calls it “Happiness Follows Kindness.”
“Something that happens with all the families as they get further along—as they start achieving goals—they also develop that need or desire to give back,” Miguel said, adding that Rice is one of them.
“I find James to be hungry to learn and grow, humble and earnest,” she said. “He has learned a whole new level of grace, mercy and forgiveness and has found freedom from many barriers.”
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