• Word of mouth
• Community Outreach from HIM
• Referral – Church
• Referral – Judge (court employee)
• Signage (e.g. yard signs)
• Social Media
• Social Agency
• Flyer/postcard in the mail
• TV commercial

During the year, HIM has six class cycles, and the recruiting takes place between every cycle. December is a time to reflect on what works and ways to improve in the coming year.

One of the most effective recruiting methods is when a graduate whose life has been transformed becomes so invested in HIM that (s)he becomes a recruiter.  These graduates bring passion and credibility to the recruiting process, and as HIM becomes more established in a community, more of the word of mouth recruiting happens organically.

Another effective method is the face to face outreach from HIM teaching staff.  During the two-week teaching break between class cycles, HIM career and life coaches staff get out in the community and recruit in a combination of places, including: shelters, public housing neighborhoods, food distribution events, parole board meetings, etc. This method takes time, and our team always learns more about the community when we get out.

Throughout the year, the classroom and community relations staff are building relationships with agencies, non-profits, court employees, etc. and hosting on-campus tours and meetings to raise awareness and build a network of multipliers who refer individuals to the HIM program.  This work is slow, steady, and productive.

There are lots of ways to get involved as a volunteer to help HIM recruit students.  We would love to hear from you. Click here if you are interested in helping HIM recruit!

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Tommy Wilson

Tommy was barely making ends meet as a musician, working part-time jobs that were unfulfilling and unsustainable. He did not know where to go or what to do, but he knew that something needed to change. When he received the HIM postcard in the mail, he decided to take a leap of faith and join the program. He mentioned it to his family, and was surprised to find out that both of his older siblings were planning on attending as well!

Throughout the course of the class, Tommy admits that “Hope Inspired Ministries taught me the value of pushing myself out of my comfort zone in a way nothing else had. Just like a rubber band being stretched further and further with each pull, I saw myself growing in confidence, in work ethic, in leadership, and in Christ”. This growth revealed what he wanted to pursue for a career, and now works for the YMCA Shades Valley Branch, a nonprofit that he truly believes is making a difference. He is excited to be a part of that impact by interacting with every individual that walks in their doors as a front desk worker.

Stephen Wilson

Throughout his life, Stephen struggled with being himself and tried to “be everything for everyone”. While it seemed like life was great on the outside, he was riddled with overwhelming shame on the inside. This shame led him to a life of constant change, moving from relationship to relationship and job to job out of fear that someone may look deeper than the surface-level to find imperfection in his life. After a stint of unemployment, he also saw the HIM postcard and while he was unsure of what it would do to help his situation, he figured that it could potentially give him insight for potential next steps.

Stephen has served with nonprofit organizations in the past, and initially found it weird to be on the receiving end of a nonprofit’s services as a HIM student. “It was a humbling experience in many ways,” he said, “not only going from servant to being served, but I also knew there was no way that I would get the help that I needed if I wasn’t willing to own up to my failures and let down my facade of imperfection.” When staff and other students shared their life maps, it gave him the confidence that he could reveal the messy imperfections of his life within the safe space of HIM. He found this process to be healing, and not as “crippling” as he originally thought.

His experience at HIM showed him that he wanted to work with people in some capacity. He now works as a teller at America’s First Federal Credit Union, where he has the ability to assist the community and provide encouragement to individuals.

Kara Lemonds

Before starting HIM, Kara was only working one day a week. Depression and feelings of hopelessness due to physical ailments kept her at her family’s home with most of the time. After receiving the postcard in the mail, Kara came to the HIM office with her mother for a tour and left convinced that joining the program would be a good opportunity for her.

Now a graduate, she said “My experience at HIM has been nothing but good, and it brought me out of the shell that I felt stuck in”. Kara is now employed as an office administrator Hill’s Janitorial Services, working with the company’s janitorial staff of over 200 people in her first-ever full-time office role. She is using the skills that she learned through HIM to assist with customer relations and payroll.

Thank You CAWACO RC&D!

All three siblings learned about HIM and were convinced to become graduates of the program thanks to our students recruitment postcards. The life transformation of these graduates, and many more, would not have been possible without CAWACO RC&D, who funds the student recruitment postcard initiative in Birmingham.

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She met HIM Executive Director John Bowman in early 2021. He told her about the HIM program, and Latasha decided to join the class in Hayneville to turn her life around and care for her family. As a student she learned soft skills, employment skills, and how to care for her mind, body, and soul. After starting the class as a quiet, reserved person, she became what staff called “the life of the class” seemingly out of the blue. As a result, Latasha earned Class 2021-3’s Overcomer Award.

Latasha completed her internship with Priester’s Pecans, and was offered a full-time position once she completed the internship. She still works there today to provide for her family.

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Picking Up the Pieces

As the second oldest of four siblings, Yolanda was left to care for her disabled youngest sister LaRuth after both of her parents passed away. She lost her job as a result, and she felt like she had hit rock bottom.

For a while, she said, “My daily routine consisted of taking care of the needs of my baby sister. After doing that, though, some days I would just eat and go back to bed. Some days I would not even take care of my hygiene. I didn’t want to talk to friends or family, and I isolated myself.” Nevertheless, her children and sister Tamara would try to encourage her to do something and make something more for herself.

“Doing Something” Through HIM

One day, Yolanda was running errands with her son when she passed by a sign that read “Free Job Training”. She told her son that he needed to call and enroll in the program for himself, not knowing that she was the one who truly needed it. She received an informational mailer from Hope Inspired Ministries a few weeks later, and held onto it. When she drove by the HIM Birmingham office, she decided to make the call to enroll in the upcoming program.

Although she was both scared and excited about coming to the class, Yolanda said that she learned a lot. She said, “The most important part of the class each day for me was devotion. We were given the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The book touched on how to reconnect our relationship and fellowship with God, family, friends, and associates.” She earned Student of the Week during the second week of class for her commitment to growth, being encouraging to her classmates, and taking ownership. That commitment was further proven when she was awarded with the Perfect Attendance award at graduation.

Now, she is working at Regus, a corporate office space provider, as an administrative assistant. She said, “I thank God for the opportunity to be in the HIM program and for the HIM program itself.”

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Broken Past

Laneisha came from a domestic violence past and that included several broken relationships. She has given birth to 10 beautiful children, but was not healthy due to her broken past and current addictions. She did not have custody of any of her children due to her lifestyle. Her struggles began at an early age of 14 years old when she gave birth to her first child but also found herself trapped in an abusive relationship. This abusive relationship continued and she did not leave this abuse for several years because it was all she knew. When she did leave she only found the cycle repeat itself with another broken relationship. To add to her struggles, she witnessed a close loved one die from a drug overdose, which can leave lasting scars.

A New Hope

Laneisha began to write a new chapter in her life on January 2, 2022, as she started the Hope Inspired Ministries Class 2022.1. The biggest lessons that she said she learned were how to be honest, basic life skills, anger management, resume building, how to save money, communication skills, and respect for herself and others. At the conclusion of her class, she interned with Waffle House and was eventually hired!

She said all of the skills she learned play a huge role in her everyday encounters with customers. On several occasions at work, she has faced difficult customers who were clearly having a bad day. She used her newly-learned communication skills and would find herself offering them encouragement. She has found that her encouragement has the power to change their day and set their life back on track! 

Laneisha is now one year clean and sober, a shift supervisor at Waffle House, and received full custody of her youngest child on December 8th. It’s never too late to get your life straight and be the person you were called to be – Laniesha was called to be a great mother!

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Luckily, God had some of our team members out in the community recruiting students for our next class at just the right time in Jeffery’s life! While in his state of hopelessness, he ran into some of our career coaches who were out in the community recruiting students for our next class. They were at a frequented convenience store in the community delivering hope by giving out information on our next class. Jeffery was impressed that someone came out to his community to recruit him to their program.

He signed up on the spot in the convenience store parking lot and his new story in life began! While in Hope Inspired Ministries he learned to Trust God and keep going no matter the issue, we called it “Trusting the Process”. He also learned good communication skills which have extremely helped him in his current job at Food Outlet. He lacked the communication skills needed to excel on a job, but he is now able to make a positive impact through his employment interactions.

Jeffrey said he loves his new HIM family so much that he is helping others now by recruiting them to join HIM, he said “I am spreading the word about HIM”. He has clearly seen a change in his own life, but truly values others who have seen the positive change. His mother said, “He’s a whole lot better now after going through the HIM Program.”

Transportation is a continued barrier in Jeffery’s life as he continues to work on getting his driver’s license. But in HIM fashion of eliminating barriers, a generous donation allowed him to have his very own wheels through a bicycle. He is now able to ride to work even when public transportation is not running, which turned into a six-mile round trip walk. Keep living your God-given purpose, Jeffery, and the sky is the limit!

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Johnny Cowan II

Before coming to Hope Inspired Ministries, Johnny says his life was going in circles. It was difficult for him to find a consistent job, and he felt very limited in his ability to move forward. He was beginning to lose hope.

One day, as Johnny was going to the grocery store, he ran into our Career Coach, Darius. Darius has a unique perspective on the program, as he was once a H.I.M. student before becoming an instructor. Darius and Johnny discussed the program and how it had helped Darius in his own life. Johnny came to our office and says he was instantly welcomed into a friendly atmosphere of love and joy. He knew right away that he wanted everything Hope Inspired Ministries had to offer.

Because of H.I.M., Johnny feels that he is ready for any interview that comes his way. He is working on his character and has grown in soft skills. His outlook on life is brighter because of the tools he learned through the program, and he has also recommitted his life to the Lord.

He says, “One of the main things I learned at Hope Inspired Ministries was that no matter the task at hand, anything requires persistence. Jobs are no different.”

Johnny will be completing an internship with Grace Klein Community, and he is excited to share all that he has learned at H.I.M. with everyone he meets.

Joyce Fletcher

Before Hope Inspired Ministries, Joyce was working fast food jobs, where she never felt joy and didn’t have a real interest. She never understood that work could feel meaningful and be something you should look forward to doing everyday.

One day, Joyce attended a second chance job fair, where she received a brochure about Hope Inspired Ministries. The information intrigued her, so she called our office number. After several phone calls with Darius, Joyce made up her mind that she would attend this program. She even nicknamed Darius “Brother Persistent,” as she received so many phone calls from him.

She says if it weren’t for Darius’ persistence, however, she would not have started the program and be where she is today. Joyce is now employed with Buffalo Rock and truly enjoys her job. Joyce recalled the moment she was offered the job, saying, “Have you ever seen anyone cry because they got hired? Well, that was me!” We are so proud of Joyce and her accomplishments!

Antoinette Hollis

Antoinette says that while her spirit was longing for a change, she was not ready to give up or surrender some of her earthly ways. However, one day, she received a call from Darius asking if she would be interested in attending our program.

She half-heartedly told him yes, but she really had no intention of going to the class. After multiple calls from Darius, Antoinette decided to give the program a try. Once she got here, she says that she continued making excuses. But, after receiving help and encouragement from the staff, Antoinette decided she was going to stay and complete the program.

She learned several skills throughout the six weeks in the classroom and says that her favorite guest speaker was Tasha Scott. Tasha reminded Antoinette that she can still dream big, and if her dreams don’t scare her, they aren’t big enough. This instilled the mindset in Antoinette that she can still set goals and achieve them.

Vesta Richardson

In March of this year, Vesta began searching for a job. She knew she was ready to branch out and do something different with her career. She sent numerous resumes but unfortunately never received any calls for interviews. By this point, she says she was feeling discouraged, desperate, and insecurities were beginning to take over her mind.

Vesta prayed that God would open her eyes to new ideas and opportunities. One day, as she was scrolling through Facebook, she came across an ad for Hope Inspired Ministries. She says, “I felt my pulse race and thought to myself that this is the opportunity of my prayers.”

Vesta filled out our online student application, and Darius called her soon after. She says that Darius was the first person who she shared her personal life story with, outside of family, and she felt validated by his loving and compassionate response. After speaking with Darius, Vesta knew she would attend the H.I.M. program.

Through the program, Vesta learned many wonderful truths through the wisdom of speakers, teachers, and her peers. She learned that we are all more alike than we are different. She learned we are all broken, but more importantly, we are all forgiven.

Today, Vesta has the confidence she was lacking. After struggling with interviews, she now feels more prepared after learning the “One Two Punch” and “STAR Method” from our Site Director, Gene. In fact, she has already landed a job at Food Outlet! We are so proud of Vesta and excited to see her future unfold.

Wallace Sailem

Before coming to Hope Inspired Ministries, Wallace was working a short-term job, but he knew he had more to offer. Wallace was ready to break the cycle of working just to make ends meet. Wallace came across one of our H.I.M. signs that reads, “Can’t Keep A Job? Let Us Help!” Shortly after, his wife handed him a Hope Inspired Ministries flyer. This was the confirmation Wallace needed to take the next step and enroll in our program.

Wallace completed our program and was awarded Honor Graduate. This award is only given to one graduate per class and is a high honor at Hope Inspired Ministries. Currently, Wallace is working at Kamtek, and he has even offered to volunteer as a lunch provider for the students in our next class.

John Williams

Before Hope Inspired Ministries, John says he wasn’t doing much of anything. He mainly spent his days sitting around and drinking. He had been out of the workforce since 2006 due to a work related injury, but that all changed with a knock on his door.

One day, John’s friend stopped by to tell him about a free hotdog and hamburger cookout going on down the street. His friend had spoken with Darius at the cookout, and he shared all the information he learned with John. John says, “The next thing I knew, I was in the classroom!”

When class started, John felt a little apprehensive. He remembers feeling a little strange with all of the new faces to learn. However, as he and his classmates began to open up about their life journeys, he started to feel more comfortable.

Throughout the program, John learned many useful skills, but more importantly, his relationship with God grew. He enjoyed participating in devotion each morning, and he particularly loved when Dr. Latting came to lead devotion. John says, “Hope Inspired Ministries brought me out of a hole that I was in, and I know that I will always come back to this place that changed my life.”

Ramona Zimmerle

Ramona has lived at Pathways for the past 12 years, which is where she first learned about Hope Inspired Ministries. She enjoyed the program so much, that she was here early every single morning, and never missed a day of class, earning her the Perfect Attendance award.

Ramona says that she learned about behavior, life skills, and employment while she was at H.I.M. She enjoyed hearing guest speakers, like Jacquie from Bama Wellness, and she had fun creating and presenting her life map. Ramona says the life map exercise taught her a lot about herself, and she expressed, “It felt like I had a weight lifted off me.”

This week, Ramona will begin an internship with Grace Klein Community. Her goals are to get her own apartment and work part-time at a grocery store.

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“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” – Jeremiah 29:11

At graduation, the students had the opportunity to share their testimony and discussed the many obstacles they faced on their journey to success. Their family and friends got to witness their achievements in an emotional night. Latasha Gallahan was awarded the overcomer award, which is given to the student who had a hard journey and pushed through to be successful. Ardell Green was awarded the leadership award for his outstanding ability to lead in and outside of the classroom. Terrias Searight was awarded the honor graduate award for her involvement in the community and for encouraging people to make the same life change that she has made.

We are so proud of these students and cannot wait to see how they grow. When you graduate into Hope Inspired Ministries, you become a part of the H.I.M. family. Our next class will be in Fort Deposit. If you are interested in joining or know someone who is in need of our program, please reach out through our website, social media, or call us at 334-548-HOPE.

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