Hopewell’s Background

Hopewell is in its 40^th years of serving the Guelph-Wellington community and was started in 1983 by John and Joanne Oosterhuis as a way of helping families in their community who had children with complex physical and/or medical complexities and were developmentally delayed.  The Oosterhuis supported these families by purchasing a large farmhouse in Ariss, ON and becoming foster parents for their children. Initially, the farmhouse allowed them to provide care for four (4) children and they did this while caring for their own family in the same home.  As word got out about the individualized care that the Oosterhuis family provided, referrals continued to increase, they hired staff and took in more children with complex physical and medical needs.  The Oosterhuis family continued to live in that farmhouse until 1996.  The legacy that they started would grow and flourish to become the incredible organization that Hopewell is today.

Today, Hopewell operates eight (8) service locations with growth plans actively underway.  Below is a brief description of each service location.

Hope Home (Ariss, Ontario) – Established in 1983 in Ariss, a 16-bed adult and 5-bed children’s supported living home offering total support to individuals with complex needs due to developmental, physical and other medical challenges. Comprehensive support includes 24-hour nursing staff and behavioural support staff.

Stephanie Home (Guelph, Ontario) – Established in 2003, Stephanie Home was a 6-bed respite home for children with enhanced behavioural support needs due to developmental and mental health disabilities. The home supported approximately 50 families by giving them a regularly scheduled break, in addition to helping with crisis situations.  The Stephanie home has now transitioned to a supported living home supporting four (4) gentlemen.  Comprehensive support is provided by a 24-hour behavioural support team.

Elmira House (Guelph, Ontario) – Established in 2012, Elmira House (formerly Ooster House) was named in honour of Hopewell founders John and Johanna Oosterhuis. The facility is a 6-bed respite home for adults.  Comprehensive support is provided by a 24-hour behavioural support team.

Gowdy House (Guelph, Ontario) – This home was established in 2018 and is a supported living home that supports two (2) gentlemen with potential to support one more individual from the community.

Montana House (Guelph, Ontario) – This home was established in 2018.  Formerly a supported living location, this home has transitioned in December 2022 to accommodate our children’s respite program.  Respite supports will be provided to families who have children with enhanced behavioural support needs due to developmental and mental health disabilities. This location will support approximately 50 families by giving them a regularly scheduled break, in addition to helping with crisis situations.  Comprehensive support is provided by a behavioural support team.

Wilton House (Guelph, Ontario) – This home came into service in2014 and is a supported living home that supports four (4) ladies.  Comprehensive support is provided by a 24-hour behavioural support team.

Grange Home (Guelph, Ontario) – This is Hopewell’s newest location that will offer support to three (3) gentlemen starting in November 2022 and has the potential to support three (3) additional community members.  As this home will support individuals requiring enhanced behaviour supports, a specialized staffing model will be in place to include a Behaviour Therapist and a behavioural support team, providing comprehensive 24-hour support.

Adult day support program (formerly called PlaySense) – Established in 2005 with a generous grant from the four Guelph Rotary Clubs and the Trillium Foundation, and a donation from Ronald McDonald house. ‘PlaySense’ is a fully accessible and adapted play program for individuals or groups of all ages with developmental disabilities. The PlaySense program includes camps, PD day recreation, evening programs, and more.

Hopewell’s Impact

Hopewell currently serves over 200 individuals annually in the Guelph-Wellington region through its Supported Living, Respite and Recreational services.  We also administer over $200,000 in passport funding on behalf of our residents.  We are also an agency that supports those in our community who might be considered hard to serve, in that these folks might require more intense medical or behavioural supports to appropriately help them live their best life.  Hopewell has a dedicated clinical and behavioural supports team on site to ensure we’re focussed on person centred supports, tailoring our supports around the needs of the individual.  We ensure that people age well and that our supports are in place to help them along the way.

With the natural changes that occur during one’s lifetime, for individuals with a developmental disability who also present with additional complexities, the aging process can be more challenging, and complex.  Hopewell is a critical piece of the support structure for these folks and in fact, our support services help to protect resources in other facilities like hospitals, long term care and other alternate level of care facilities.  If we weren’t here, the individuals we support would be in unsettle, precarious and dangerous situations.

Our Board is committed to growing the support services that Hopewell provides in our community.