Our Story
and Mission

Hope Haven of East Texas was founded in 2018 in Tyler, Texas, in response to a clear and urgent need in our community: too many children, especially teenage girls in the foster care system, were being overlooked and left with nowhere safe to go. Local leaders, pastors, and community advocates recognized that while younger children often had placement options, older youth, particularly those with emotional, behavioral, and trauma-related needs, were frequently ignored. This reality inspired the creation of Hope Haven, a Christ-centered ministry committed to serving these “forgotten” children with dignity, healing, and hope.

Hope Haven’s first big venture was its residential home, Gateway of Hope. The home, located near Lindale, Texas offers a home as well as therapeutic care for teenage girls ages 13–17 who had no other placement options. Guided by its mission ‘to demonstrate Christ’s love through home, healing, and hope because every child deserves to be safe and equipped for the future,’ Gateway of Hope is able to house up to 16 girls at a time and since opening in 2018 has served more than 250 teenage girls in foster care.

Recognizing that the need for stability and support does not end at age 18, Hope Haven expanded its continuum of care with the launch of Oak Haven, a Supervised Independent Living residence for young women ages 18–21, in 2021. Oak Haven provides structured support in education, employment, life skills, and healthy relationships, helping young women successfully transition from foster care into adulthood and independence.

In 2025, Hope Haven took another significant evolutionary step with the launch of Family Solutions, a licensed counseling and therapy program focused on addressing critical mental health needs for children and teenagers in the foster care system with higher-level trauma and behavioral challenges. Family Solutions serves not only the girls in Hope Haven’s care, but also children and families within the broader foster care and adoption community. Children in foster care are required to utilize mental health providers through Medicaid. That creates a significant barrier to access as few, well qualified mental and behavioral specialists, who accept Medicaid, practice in East Texas. Family Solutions provides this service at no cost to Hope Haven residents and operates on a sliding-scale model to ensure mental health support is accessible to all foster and adoptive families across East Texas.

Throughout its history, Hope Haven has remained faith-based and community-driven, partnering with churches, donors, volunteers, and service agencies to create safe, nurturing environments for children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and loss. By integrating therapeutic services with spiritual care and strong community support, Hope Haven continues to evolve to meet emerging needs, reduce the number of children placed far from home, and foster lasting transformation in the lives of youth and families across East Texas.