Hopeful City is a power organization of faith-based communities dedicated to equipping people with the tools to fight for positive, systemic change in the Wheeling, WV metropolitan area.  In spring 2001, Hopeful City trained 350 congregational leaders to conduct a Listening Campaign.  The leaders held over 3,700 one-on-one conversations with others in their church, neighborhood and workplace.  These conversations identified new leaders, congregational issues and community-wide issues. 

During the Issues Convention that followed, the 350 "listeners" voted for Community Renaissance: Jobs, Business & Downtown; Neighborhood Revitalization; and Needs of Youth as task force issues.  The selection of these issues was not surprising, but for the first time ordinary citizens had the opportunity to determine the issues to address.  Hopeful City provided training and opportunities for task force leaders to understand the issues that affect their lives and develop a broad group of allies in order to impact decisions concerning these issues.

We ended our first year when over 2,100 residents attended our first Public Meeting and witnessed task force members identify what was heard during the Listening Campaign, cast a vision for the future and receive commitments from officials.  As many said, "It's no longer business as usual in Wheeling"

Our economic development efforts included working with state officials to provide grants for 10 local manufacturers to develop new processes to increase their production.  Task Force members are now conducting Creating a Greater Future classes to educate residents about government unification and explore the impact it could have on economic development.

Our East Wheeling leaders developed a process to engage 300 of their neighbors in creating a neighborhood revitalization plan, funded by the Wheeling Housing Authority.  Our new Holy Ground Task Force pressured Wheeling's police chief to have officers build community relationships by teaming them with East Wheeling residents to conduct door-to-door conversations; over 600 households were contacted. 

Nearly 400 residents from throughout the city joined together to declare a united effort to eliminate illegal drug activity, resulting in one drug house being boarded up the following week.  These leaders are currently working with city officials and representatives of the Catholic Diocese to resolve a dangerous sidewalk situation that has plagued the neighborhood for eight years.

Hopeful City Accomplishments

Our Beliefs:

• Our destinies are intertwined.
• Our faith calls us to actively participate in the rebuilding of our community.
• People have the right and responsibility to determine what happens in their community.
• By organizing people and money we will create a power organization that can influence decisions that are made in our community.

 

Although we are a faith-based organization, our religious traditions vary and we are involved in issues that bring us together, not those that separate us. Our current focus is:

• Community Renaissance: Jobs, Business and Downtown
• Housing and Neighborhood Deterioration
• Illegal Drug Use in Our Community

 

We are not a social service agency.