Project Return / Susie’s House is dedicated to supporting and empowering young women who have been impacted by homelessness. This fully-integrated Homes with Hope program provides a safe and nurturing environment in which participants are able to embark on their individual paths toward self-sufficiency and create and implement their plans for education, employment and home life. Susie's House also serves as the hub for the agency's HEAL (Health, Empathy, Altruism and Love) program, which engages vulnerable teenage girls through self-designed community service projects.

Homes with Hope's After School Academic Program, located at Powell Place, serves children and teens who live in our Supportive Housing Program and the surrounding community. The goal of the after school program is to provide consistent structure, positive role models, academic support, and enrichment activities to help students develop the skills they need to be successful at school and in their personal lives. ASAP also provides four weeks of summer activities.

The HEAL Community Service Program saw its largest number of graduates in spring of 2021, which resulted in the addition of the HEAL Alumna group.  This group currently meets virtually twice per month, and they have joined the high school and middle school groups in their efforts such as decorating area senior centers with seasonal painted pumpkins and Valentines hearts as well as leading preschoolers in activities like our Annual Spring Egg Hunt.  They have provided the younger, newer HEAL members a form of mentorship.  HEAL currently has 6 groups in Bridgeport (2), Norwalk (2), Westport (1) and Wilton (1).

A community service program for teenaged girls

Health, Empathy, Altruism, Love (HEAL) is a community service program that provides teenaged girls with a sense of belonging. Recognizing the transformative powers of giving and altruism, the HEAL program is committed to helping adolescent girls, living in our communities, by bringing them together as a group to participate in volunteer services to others. Giving to others inspires feelings of well-being, optimism, confidence, and success. In their service to others, the girls begin to grow through that power of helping and healing others, gaining resilience and improving their own self-esteem. Through the staff's own modeling of empathy, altruism, and love, the girls gain a healthier understanding of who they are and what they have to offer.