Pathway of Hope helps one family find home in Boise

The Salvation Army in Boise, Idaho, recently launched the Pathway of Hope program.

BY KAREN GLEASON

Katie Johnson* had been unhoused in Boise, Idaho, for two years, with her longtime boyfriend—then he was arrested.

“I became a single mother experiencing homelessness in the blink of an eye,” she said.

Her life began to change when she connected with the local Salvation Army and its Pathway of Hope program. Just before Thanksgiving 2022, Johnson moved with her two children from a homeless shelter into her own apartment.

The Boise program is an expression of The Salvation Army’s national Pathway of Hope initiative, which aims to provide individualized services to families with children, with a goal that the families maintain long-term stability.

The 12–18-month program launched just over a year ago when Boise Corps Officers Majors Kimberly and Thomas Stambaugh decided to merge their former program, Pathways Out of Poverty, into the Pathway of Hope model. The transition involved meeting Pathway of Hope’s assessment and data entry requirements on WellSky, a software program that allows coordination between social service and healthcare providers.

In December 2021, the Stambaughs hired Case Manager Kira Hurt to manage the transition of the programs, and the metamorphosis began. Hurt works with individuals including Johnson, helping them navigate the steps along the path.

“For some clients, the change is like 180 degrees— from living in a car to living in an apartment,” Hurt said.

Previously, Hurt had been employed with The Salvation Army Nampa (Idaho) Community Family Shelter, working with unhoused and mentally ill individuals. Before that, she taught high school for 21 years.

She said she did a lot of community outreach for several months to introduce the program’s new name. She put up posters and distributed brochures to other social service providers.

“It’s intensive case management, once a week,” Hurt said. “And every week, we come up with new goals for the week, talk about whatever issues are going on, if they need resources. I help them with

The Pathway of Hope program has been a great experience.

My case manager never judged the bumps or bruises I had…Today I have a home and hope for a future that keeps me going.

—KATIE JOHNSON*

who to call and sometimes I have to make a referral. For some, I’m working on housing; the ones that take the most time are the unhoused ones.”

Currently, she’s working with 10 families, with three more on a waitlist. At each weekly assessment, clients set four goals for that week that support a long-term goal, perhaps to purchase a house in five years.

Clients receive gift cards, courtesy of Fred Meyer, for attending their weekly meetings and a class Hurt started—“Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin’ By World” (based on workbooks by Philip E. DeVol). The 13-week course focuses on breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and building resources for a better life.

Program participants are required to attend the class in addition to their weekly assessment meetings. When it’s in session, the class meets once a week at the Boise Salvation Army campus.

The most recent session began Jan. 11, and Johnson signed up. She’s able to bring her kids as childcare is provided. A lot has changed for her in just a year.

From a car, to a shelter, to an apartment

“When I met Katie, she was living in her car with her boyfriend, and a week or two later, he had hit her and ended up in jail,” Hurt said. “And then she found out she was pregnant.”

Johnson already had a young son. She found her-