Focus: HOPE

What We Do

Focus: HOPE is a nationally renowned civil and human rights organization, and a trusted member of the community for over 57 years. Founded in 1968 by Father William Cunningham and Eleanor Josaitis, Focus: HOPE provides an intergenerational, holistic mix of services to disrupt the effects of racism, poverty and other forms of social injustice in southeast Michigan for people at each stage of life. 

Focus: HOPE was founded to unite the community at a critical time. We remain committed to living out our mission to overcome racism, poverty, and injustice – no matter what, serving over 59,000 community members each year. 

1. Our Food for Seniors program serves over 44,000 seniors each month with commodity supplemental food boxes through pick up, drive-thru and homebound options giving our seniors the ability to choose what works best for them. With our recently re-open Westside Food Center, we are able to give seniors a beautiful shopping experience where they can pick the food items that they love most and have autonomy over the food they are eating each month.
2. Each year, we educate over 400 students in our Early Learning program through Early Head Start and Head Start programming. Starting from as early as 6 weeks to 5 years old, our Early Learning program sets up our children for a life of educational success. Our program also provides support to our families through programs including our Peer-to-Peer Doula and Men in Motion programs. 
3. Our Workforce Development and Education program trains over 400 students each year for success careers in areas including: Information Technology, Industrial Manufacturing, Logistics and Transportation and more. Training in a hybrid model, we are able to give our students the flexibility they need during training and provide them the wrap-around support they need to complete the program successfully including transportation assistance, snacks, technology assistance and more. In 2024 we had 432 students enrolled in training pathways, placed 290 students in new careers and had 54 employee partners participate in our program.