A Portrait of HopeRoad’s Mission

Each volunteer trip HopeRoad takes is important and is chosen with great care. In late June of 2015, we planned an outreach trip to one of the poorest counties in the United States that incidentally has a high school dropout rate that is 150% higher than the rest of the U.S.

The family who we were there to help is a special group of people. Larry and Bertha Miller are raising four children of their own along with four nieces and nephews who were being put into foster care due to drug abuse in their home. Additionally, the Millers took in a high school friend of their son because of instability in his home. While a very loving family, there are strict rules for the children to keep them in school and off drugs. This is extremely important since often there are entire generations of families that drop out of high school and end up subsisting on a lifetime of public assistance.

For the Miller family, their living situation was not optimal and had become very cramped in only a three-bedroom mobile home. It was determined that one of the bedrooms was not up to code or properly insulated. The lack of insulation caused the room to be very cold in the winter, which in turn affected their 11-year old daughter’s health and attendance in school.

HopeRoad was determined to make a difference by repairing the home and extensively insulating the bedroom. With our help, the Miller children are sleeping soundly and experiencing less health issues.

To become involved in a future trip to Applachia, or any of HopeRoad’s short term opportunities, please email us at [email protected] or use the Contact Us page.