Dear Hope Services Family and Friends,

I hope you all are in good health and spirits as we welcome a new year. 2021 is an exciting time for our agency, as we are celebrating anniversaries, milestones, and new arrivals.

Hope Services has been “transforming lives through Hope since 1952” by providing a lifespan of services to individuals with mental health needs and developmental disabilities. As 2021 marks our 69th year, we are busy preparing for our 70th anniversary celebration next year. Our work would not be possible without the continued support of our incredible donors, supporters, staff, and volunteers. I want to express my deepest appreciation to each of you.

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, our top priority remains the health and safety of our staff, clients, partners, and the community at large. We must live up to our responsibility to support our communities, those who are vulnerable, and the healthcare providers who are on the front lines of this pandemic. To do our part as an agency to protect staff, and those in the community we care for, we have refined our COVID-19 protocols and guidelines to assist in navigating COVID-19 related occurrences and have implemented a variety of viral mitigation procedures agency-wide at all Hope Services sites.

I am very pleased to announce some new arrivals to the Hope Services family. Gopal Kumarappan, Head of Engineering at Adobe, is our newest Board member. We look forward to seeing how his leadership experience in corporate world, community services in the city of Cupertino and board position at library foundations will help Hope. We’ve also added a member to our Leadership Team, Chief Program Officer, Tara Beckman, LCSW. Her background as an executive director, director of services, deputy director and program director have afforded her the opportunity to deliver comprehensive mental health services to many populations in a number of different counties. She has served populations presenting a range of neurological and psychological disorders as well as emotional, behavioral, substance use and developmental disabilities. Tara has also been repeatedly recognized for excellence in her leadership in the development, implementation and expansion of a wide variety of programs and services in addition to managing and negotiating County contracts, grants, budgets and monitoring program deliverables and outcomes. Her experience providing guidance, assessment and treatment to diverse patient populations, combined with her ability to manage programs and build alliances will allow her to make significant contributions. Additionally, she is pursuing a second masters in Executive Healthcare Administration, which will most certainly allow her to expand my skillset and share valuable and innovative approaches with Hope Services.

We have much to be proud of as one of the largest DD/I and mental health services providers in Northern California with annual revenues of over $65 million. The first half of our fiscal year has been exceptional in regards to services being provided to the communities we serve and the financial support from our stakeholders and families we serve. We have been able to share some of these favorable proceeds with our much deserving staff.

Our 3rd Annual “In Concert with Hope” will virtually be Saturday, October 2^nd featuring five-time GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, formerly with Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers who have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and will be together for the 50^th Anniversary tour. And, back by popular demand, will be the soulful sounds of two-time GRAMMY award-nominated jazz saxophonist Mindi Abair.

 

With much appreciation,

Charles “Chip” Huggins, JD
President/CEO