At Hope Creates, we are working to balance the prevention of COVID, while also recognizing that “addiction is a disease of isolation.” It is important to remember that experts distinguish between physical distancing and social distancing, and actually emphasize that we keep physical distance, but make extra efforts to maintain social bonds during this time of enormous stress and dislocation. The social isolation that is so critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus prevents people from attending peer-support groups, which are such a vital source of emotional and spiritual support to people struggling to stay in recovery. During this challenging time, we are offering a blend of virtual and in-person one-on-one mentoring, monthly Community Creation Events with small groups, as well as virtual Expressive Arts Exhibitions, following CDC guidelines.

Our Commitment to Our Health

The Show Me Strong Pledge is a voluntary commitment that takes only a few simple steps to aid in protecting the well-being of all Missourians. Hope Creates has taken the voluntary commitment to COVID-19 mitigation in our community. Connections to Success encouraged us to take the pledge. We in turn invite all our friends and supporters to show your strength and take the pledge.

August News and Program Highlights

Building Creative Leaders and Entrepreneurs

The Creative Advisory Board (CAB) is a group of our young adult members who have shown commitment to their art, passion for Hope Creates and success in their recovery. The CAB is a committee of the Board. The members work with Hope Creates leadership to develop and improve programs and enhance relevance of our offerings for participants. A key principle in community engagement is to design “with” not “for” members, engaging them in the planning and implementation of programming. We are accomplishing this through CAB participation. Our CAB members take on projects of passion and move their ideas forward to completion.

Celebrating Two Outstanding Projects The CAB Just Completed!

Website Refresh

We applaud Nell C. for her tremendous work, collaborating with our Executive Director and the board to redesign, program and launch our website. Nell has been a member of Hope Creates for three years. She recently graduated from college and started her career as a designer. Nell's work demonstrates her commitment to developing fresh and evergreen design solutions that connect with key target audiences.

Hope Mobile

Thanks to everyone who supported our efforts to transform a donated passenger van into the Hope Mobile, a much-needed vehicle that allows us to transport our art supplies to Community Creation Events and artwork to Expressive Arts Exhibitions. A special thanks to David B. who rallied a team of Hope Creates members, and together found a supplier to wrap our van, organized the development of initial concepts for the exterior design of the van, selected the final design, set up the event to paint the van, and completed the final touches to the project. The van is art in motion spreading our passion as we drive around town to our events.

Check Out Our Next Community Creation Event!

We invite youth and young adults in recovery from addiction (and their families) to join our vibrant creative community and to laugh and play with us.

Patch It!

Bring Your Old Jeans and Jackets and Transform Them.

Sunday, September 20
Our members, Logan H. and Jordan V., will lead us in creating our own fanciful fashion. We will turn old clothes into trendy new wearables.

We Celebrate Our Partners

We are pleased to inform you that the Missouri Arts Council has awarded Hope Creates a 2020 Express Grant. Thank you Missouri Arts Council for all that you do to support the arts in the St. Louis Region.

To stay connected and learn how you can help us support more local families, follow us on Facebook. Learn about volunteer opportunities.

Nearly 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2019, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – an increase of 5 percent from 2018. Deaths from drug overdoses remain higher than the peak yearly death totals ever recorded for car accidents, guns or AIDS, and their acceleration in recent years has pushed down overall life expectancy in the United States.

It looks as if 2020 will be even worse. Drug deaths have risen an average of 13 percent so far this year over last year, according to mortality data from local and state governments.

Community, Connection, and Creativity have power. Today we celebrate the resilience of our creative community of young sober artists and their families!