Hope Dolls began as an effort by Lea Lakeside-Scott to reach out to incarcerated girls housed at the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Center. Lea started by going into the close custody unit and building mentoring relationships with the girls. Her work included refurbishing discarded dolls and toys so they could be donated to needy children. The girls’ enthusiasm for the program made Lea realize the tremendous potential incarcerated juveniles have for service to others. More than manpower, Lea found the compassion needed for helping others in the hearts of these kids. The project quickly expanded to include incarcerated boys, and had taken on several adult volunteers.
Hope Dolls Today
For those who survive the violence and stigma of abuse, the road to recovery is long. Feelings of shame and helplessness often root and fester, frequently finding a dangerous outlet in anger and violence. Hope Doll’s mission is to stop this cycle of violence by improving the lives of teens and impacting their choices for the future.
“By helping teenage survivors of abuse and neglect become responsible, self-sufficient adults we are helping create kinder, safer home lives for the children they might someday have.” (Lea Lakeside-Scott, founder Hope Dolls)
Many teens in Hope Doll’s programs have survived neglect and abuse, only to find their life choices limited by their lack of skills or adequate resources. Since their homes often provide little structure, guidance or role models, and their resources frequently don’t include appropriate clothing or accessories; they often have difficulty finding and keeping jobs that require interpersonal skills.
In addition to life skills, computer literacy is a vital part of contemporary society. “Hope Doll’s uses current technology to teach the advanced skills necessary to foster autonomy and creativity in our clients.” (Lea Lakeside-Scott, founder of Hope dolls) In fact, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke eloquently about it nearly 40 years ago when he said: "Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood, and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this."
Hope Doll’s program is a vehicle for mentoring troubled teens and teaching them advanced skills including: computer software operation, digital photography, ad design, online communication (writing and editing), accounting and calculations.
Learning these skills help decrease the digital divide that is affecting so many teens in low-income communities.
“only 29 percent of school-age children in households with annual incomes of less than $15,000 use a home computer to complete school assignments. In comparison, 77 percent of children in households with incomes of $75,000 or more use a home computer to complete assignments. (Perspective: Digital divide has not disappeared By Paul Lamb).
“The digital divide refers to inequalities in access to information technology. One of the main reasons why the digital divide is an important issue is that access to information technology has a tremendous impact on people's ability to acquire knowledge.” (Don Fallis, Social epistemology and the digital divide, Selected papers from conference on Computers and philosophy, p.79-84, July 01, 2003 )
Hope Dolls positively impacts participating teens’ ability to acquire knowledge, then they teach them to generalize that knowledge and apply it to the online sales community.
Teen participants come to Hope Dolls from throughout the State of Oregon, however, the majority come from the Portland Metro area. Our center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community partners including: DePaul Youth Treatment Center, White Shield House, Buckman House, Clackamas House, Rosemont School, John’s Landing Center, Clinton House, Portland Public Schools, North Clackamas Public Schools, and other programs for homeless youth, refer troubled teens to our program. To be considered for referral, teens must simply express an interest in learning the critical skills necessary to improve the quality of their lives, and the desire to work toward an independent and productive life.
The Hope Doll’s Computer Technology Center and Mentoring Program is committed to a holistic approach. By teaching a combination of independent living skills with business and computer literacy in a teen friendly, small business environment, Hope Dolls can practice what it teaches. This unique forum provides troubled teens with an extended family ready to help them discover their potential, a experiential learning lab, and the appropriate clothing and accessories to outfit them once they are ready to join the workforce. Hundreds of teens have learned first hand how effective a program fueled by hope can be.
A generous $10,000 donation by the Juliet Hillman Foundation allowed Lea and a group of volunteers to start the Hope Dolls Resale Store. The efforts at the store have been directed at making Hope Dolls a self-supporting charitable organization while expanding its outreach to children and families in need.
The Resale Store is a non-profit retail outlet that sells a variety of goods at discount prices. The store conveys a sense of community in a setting that is designed to help people in need. Items at the store have set prices, but many sales are made to facilitate the needs of customers with little money.
Hope Dolls gives toys and clothing to a variety of charities and domestic shelters. Below are just a few of the groups and agencies that benefit from our efforts:
Much of the work at Hope Dolls is to help existing community service organizations better implement their programs, mostly through donations. By acting as a catalyst between outreach services and area businesses, Hope Dolls has been able to ensure that children and families in need receive the help they need.
