What We Do
HopeWell has supported, empowered, and uplifted those in our care for six decades. We are the largest nonprofit provider of comprehensive foster care in Massachusetts. Our programs provide a range of critical social services to children, adults, and families across the state each year.
Our Programs
Our mission is the driving force behind everything we do:
We enrich the lives and expand the opportunities of children, adults, and families in need of love, support, and safe places to grow and thrive.
Our History
In 1964, founder Gerry Wright saw an urgent need for a better alternative to teens involved in the juvenile justice system being cast away in detention centers. He launched Massachusetts’s first community-based residential program for boys and named the new nonprofit DARE: Dynamic Action Residence Enterprise.
This pioneering program evolved into DARE Family Services. By the 1970s and 1980s, the organization had grown significantly — becoming a state leader in providing comprehensive foster care for children and teens, as well as services designed to help families involved in the child welfare system safely maintain or regain custody of their children.
During this time, the concept of deinstitutionalization was also taking root. The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health sought out DARE’s help to find alternatives for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dedicated to the idea that all people deserve stability and opportunities to grow, DARE began providing staffed apartments for adults with disabilities who had previously spent years in state hospitals and institutions with little hope for any other future.
In the years that followed, DARE became one of the first providers in Massachusetts to offer a residential program for pregnant and parenting mothers with mild to moderate developmental disabilities.
In 2016, the organization began re-envisioning itself for a new era. Building on a record of high-quality care for children, adults, and families, we began evaluating the current state of care, identifying gaps in social services, and developing promising new approaches to helping people grow and thrive. We also began navigating how to address fluctuating levels of state financial support and finding sources to fund acute unmet needs.
In 2017, we took the name HopeWell — two positive words joined together — as a symbol of our renewed commitment to positive, innovative models of care.
In recent years, we’ve added new programs and priorities to advance our central mission of enriching lives and expanding opportunities, including:
- Our My First Place™ program to meet the distinct needs of young people “aging out” of the foster care system.
- Our RISE program to provide education support for elementary school children experiencing foster care.
- Increased focus on incorporating data and analysis as part of our toolkit for change.
- Enhanced efforts to improve statewide policies and move the entire child welfare system forward.
Our History
The Beginning
HopeWell’s roots go back to 1964, when founder Gerry Wright saw an urgent need for an alternative to teens who were involved in the juvenile justice system being warehoused in detention centers. Determined to find a better, more human alternative, Wright launched the state’s first community-based residential program for boys. He named the new nonprofit DARE: Dynamic Action Residence Enterprise.
Our Early Growth
By the 1970s, the organization had grown significantly and become a state leader in providing intensive foster care services to children and teens with a history of serious challenges and family trauma.
Re-envisioning for the 21st Century
Building on an impressive record of high-quality care for children, families, and adults, we began evaluating the current state of care, including gaps in social services and promising new approaches to helping people heal and thrive. We also began navigating how to address fluctuating levels of state support and finding sources to fund acute unmet needs.
Our Renaming
In 2017, we took the name HopeWell — two positive words joined together — as a symbol of our renewed commitment to positive, innovative models of care.
HopeWell Today
In recent years, we have added new programs and priorities to advance our central mission of enriching lives and expanding opportunities: a program specialized to meet the distinct needs of young people “aging out” of foster care and transitioning into adulthood; education support for elementary school children involved in the foster care system; a greater emphasis on data and analysis as part of our toolkit for change; and expanded efforts to positively impact policy and systemic change at the local, state, and national levels.
Our Annual Report
Learn about our programs, our impact, and our supporters.