Bringing ‘Hope’ to East Houma

The distinct sound of guitar chords and drumbeats reverberate off the walls of 8910 Main St., the building Hope Extreme calls home. What might sound like a professional band readying itself for a concert, is actually a group of East Houma teenagers practicing for Sunday church service.

Wanting to reach out and make a difference to the young people of the East Houma community, Hope Extreme, a faith based 501(c)3 non-profit organization, came into conception.

“We started Hope Extreme back in November of 2003,” Amber Smith, a long-time volunteer for the organization said. “And our mission is to bring radical change to the lives of East Houma’s urban youth through spiritual development, educational development and community development.”

Hope Extreme offers a variety of activities that range from one-on-one tutoring, learning labs, behavioral skill classes, bible classes and church services. All of Hope Extreme’s participants are volunteers, and activities are funded through private donations, according to Smith.

Even the house Hope Extreme uses for tutoring was paid for by donations, and needed a lot of attention before students could use the building.

“We knew that we wanted to use the house for a tutoring center,” Smith said. “But we found cracks in the house when we first got here, and someone painted black over the windows. So it took a lot of work to fix it up, but we wanted to give the kids a fresh atmosphere to come and be able to learn.”

And learning, according to Smith, is vital for the children ages 4 to 19 that attend the center, in changing their outlook on life.

“We found out working with the families that poverty is generational here. Their whole way of life is just a result of what they’ve known from the past,” Smith said. “But we have a couple students who have been the first to graduate high school in their families, so it’s a big deal that some of these kids are starting to step out and say ‘I want a different way of life.'”

Right now, the organization has about 50 students signed up for the tutoring program, and 10 volunteers comprised of retired teachers, college students and community members ready to teach.

“A lot of the parents are either illiterate themselves or have a seventh or eighth education, so they can’t help their kids with school work sometimes, so they love the educational part of the program,” Smith said.

Smith said Hope Extreme would have more students involved, but doesn’t have the transportation to accommodate them.

“The program has picked up tremendously in the last few years, there’s so many more kids that would come if we had the means to pick them up,” Smith said, explaining the students’ school buses drop them off at the center, and volunteers bring the students home after tutoring in one of the three vans the center has.

One of Hope Extreme’s needs for the year is to get another van to transport the students, and to be able to get more young people involved.

Hikeem Vincent, 17, who plays keyboards at the church services, said Hope Extreme has changed his life for the better since he’s been a participant.

“I used to do a lot of wrong stuff but when I came here I got a chance to experience the message of God,” he said, and added the organization volunteers are helping him get into college. He wants to go to LSU for forensic anthropology.

“I like that [Hope Extreme] tutors the kids and changes every day life to make a change in the community,” said Shelby Jones, 19, who has learned bass guitar at the center and has been attending for the last five years.

“I changed in many different ways, like my anger issues. I became a better person, I’m in this for God, and the people I’m around here see a lot in me that I don’t see in myself,” he said. “They believe in me and encourage me and make me want to be better.”

And because of his positive experience, Shelby encourages others to join, too.

“If people come here, they are going to love it,” he said.

For more information about donations or volunteering for Hope Extreme, go to: www.hopeextreme.org or call (985) 873-3145.

Hikeem Vincent, 17, Leon Robinson, 14, Shelby Jones, 19 and Isaiah Jones, 14, hold band practice at the Hope Extreme building on Main Street in preparation for the group’s Sunday service. JENNA FARMER