Hearth Foundation

This is Maria

She walked out of Marysville Correctional with $43, no driver's license, and nowhere to go.

Maria was 34. She had served six years for a nonviolent drug offense. The day she was released, she stood at the bus stop outside the prison with a plastic bag of belongings and a phone number for a shelter that had no beds available.

She had 90 days to find housing or violate parole. No employer would call her back. Her credit was destroyed. Her family had moved. The system that released her offered no map for what came next.

Maria found Hearth. Nine months later, she signed a lease on her own apartment with $2,800 in savings and a job as a certified nursing assistant. That was three years ago. She's still there.

6

years incarcerated

$43

upon release

9

months at Hearth

3+

years stable housing

Hearth Foundation

The cliff between release and a stable life

Every year, 231,000 women leave prison in the United States. Most are released with under $100, no housing lined up, and a conviction record that disqualifies them from most apartments, jobs, and public assistance. The window to stabilize is brutally short. Miss it, and the cycle begins again.

68%

face homelessness within two weeks of release

32%

achieve stable housing within 3 years (national avg)

44%

return to prison within 5 years

Hearth Foundation

Nine months to build a foundation

Hearth's residential program addresses the whole person—not just housing, but the skills, health, and savings that make independence last.

Months 1–2

Stabilize

Safe housing, trauma-informed intake, IDs and documents, immediate needs assessment.

Months 3–5

Build Skills

Job training partnerships, financial literacy, interview prep, weekly therapy sessions.

Months 6–8

Earn & Save

Employment placement, 2:1 savings match up to $1,500, credit rebuilding.

Month 9+

Launch

Housing search support, lease signing, 12 months of alumni follow-up.

Hearth Foundation

Four pillars, one outcome

Every Hearth resident receives integrated support across four domains. They're not separate programs—they're woven into a single, coherent experience of rebuilding.

Residence: Private room, shared kitchen, 24/7 staff support
Work: Partnerships with 23 employers across healthcare, logistics, and food service
Mental Health: Weekly 1:1 therapy, trauma-informed care model
Savings: 2:1 match on every dollar saved, up to $1,500

Hearth Foundation

What the data shows

Three-year outcomes for Hearth graduates vs. national averages

78%

stable housing at 3 years

Hearth

National

vs. 32% national average

64%

earning above living wage

Hearth

National

vs. 28% national average

91%

no re-arrest at 3 years

Hearth

National

vs. 56% national average

Hearth Foundation

Our request

$250,000

Unrestricted gift over three years

12 → 20

beds at Cleveland house

+8

additional women per year

24

more lives changed over 3 years

Hearth Foundation

What your gift becomes

$250K

your gift

=

24

program seats

=

19

women stably housed

At our 78% success rate, your $250,000 gift will result in approximately 19 women living independently three years from now—women who would otherwise face a 68% chance of homelessness. That's $13,158 per transformed life. The cost of one year of re-incarceration in Ohio is $28,884.

Hearth Foundation

Where your dollar goes

74%

16%

10%

74% Direct Program

Housing, food, job training, mental health services, savings matches

16% Program Staff

Case managers, therapists, employment specialists, house staff

10% Administration

Facilities, fundraising, compliance, organizational overhead

Hearth Foundation

Come see the Cleveland house

We'd be honored to host you for a site visit. Meet our staff, tour the residence, and talk with program graduates about what Hearth meant for them. Seeing it in person is the best way to understand the work.

Schedule a Site Visit

Or reach out directly:
sarah.mitchell@hearthfoundation.org · (216) 555-0184