There’s been a lot of changes within Hope for the Day over the past year with the addition of a new Executive Director, improved employee benefits, and a formal handbook to name a few. These changes have all been done to make the organization a better place for its employees and the people it serves.

But most importantly, Hope for the Day is still all about mental health education and proactive suicide prevention. For Executive Director, Deno Andrews, who started in his position in August 2021, that’s been the most invigorating part.

“It’s refreshing for me to work in such a mission-driven environment with a staff that is as effective as it is empathetic,”

Andrews said.

Previously, he has worked in public office, private equity, and nonprofit work during his career. In his off time, Andrews also enjoys sailing. At the helm of a new ship, he’s working to steer Hope for the Day in one intentional direction with a new strategic plan.

“Organizations that don’t have strategic plans can sometimes expand in every direction instead of expanding in the direction of the mission,” Andrews said. “I think of it like a boat. If the boat is moving in one direction, you’re getting from point A to point B. If your boat is moving in every direction, it means you’re just at the mercy of the winds and the waves and you have no control.”

The strategic plan, which is set to be finalized by the Board of Directors in February, will chart a course for Hope for the Day. From there, Andrews and the staff of Hope for the Day can all work toward a clear goal.

A part of the strategic plan, are updated core values that were voted on by the staff:

Empathy- We meet people where they’re at, operate using active listening, and aim to truly understand people without judgment.
Integrity- We are committed to operating with honesty, building trust in our community, and doing the right thing at all times, publicly and privately.
Transparency- We strive to operate and communicate openly with accountability and share information internally and externally.

Hope for the Day’s Sr. Director of Human Resources, Christmas Bacos echoed Andrews’ sentiment saying that they’re working on being more calculated and purposeful with their decision making.

“We’re being a lot more selective and strategic with how we spend our time and our resources,” Bacos said. “We’ll be able to stay in our lane as an organization but also within the departments, so we’re all heading in the same direction at the same time and helping each other out rather than vying for who gets the most resources right now.”

According to Bacos, this is in an effort to be able to create the biggest impact for the staff and for those whom the organization serves.

But to be able to properly serve the community, Hope for the Day’s employees need to be well-rested and recharged. This is exactly why Bacos spoke highly of the improvements to employee benefits, including vacation time, paid time off, and Mental Health Fridays.

“The work that we do is incredibly valuable, but it's also incredibly emotionally draining at times and in order for us to be as effective as we can possibly be, it's important that we, as leaders and we as employees, are taking the time that we need to rest up, relax, practice self care,” Bacos said. “We never want work to be a reason why you’re not taking care of yourself.”

Hope for the Day’s new vacation policy is that every employee is required to take at least two weeks of vacation time per year. The amount of time is the same for all employees regardless of tenure within the organization to promote equity.

*Sr. Director of Human Resources Christmas Bacos teaches a The Things We Don’t Say to a group of students.*

Bacos said the organization chose to go with a minimum amount of time instead of the traditional maximum because not everyone recharges at the same rate.

“If you need extra time to feel refreshed we want you to feel welcome to take extra time because there’s only one you in this world and there’s a reason that you are the one that is on our team and that you are the one who is dedicating your life to helping us to fulfill this mission,” Bacos said.

Hope for the Day has also instituted Mental Health Fridays, where employees are free to take the last Friday of the month off with no questions asked. They are welcome to work a half day or not at all and use that extra time to take care of themselves, whatever that means to them.

Additionally, sick days are now referred to as wellness days. Employees can use their wellness time if they’re not feeling well physically or mentally. The time can also be applied to care for family members.

“While companies say that ‘we care about you as a person, we care about your mental health,’” Bacos said. “I didn’t want to talk about it, I wanted to be about it.”

To formalize these new procedures, Hope for the Day has updated an employee handbook, which will be released to employees on Jan. 31. The handbook will lay out processes that had been “mysteries in the past,” according to Bacos.

The handbook also includes a whistle-blower policy and an open door policy to ensure the staff have an outlet to discuss anything that happens and that they know where to go to make a report.

For Andrews, the handbook is primarily about setting expectations across the board.

“It’s more about setting the professional expectation of working in a professional environment, but without losing our character,” Andrews said. “This organization and this staff has a lot of individuality and a lot of celebrating diversity.”

Over the past year, the staff has had the opportunity to attend a variety of trainings to learn more about diversity, inclusion, and the resources available. Those trainings include: Military 101; LGBTQ basics; Racism and Mental Health; Racism and Healthcare; and our Behind the Resource Card Panel, which our Education Department designed to take a deeper dive into the resources we provide to our community.

The staff also recently voiced their opinions in an organization-wide engagement survey. The goal of the survey was to get ideas from the staff about how to improve the organization and start an open conversation. With this information, leadership can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts, according to Bacos.

All of the staff completed the survey. Both Andrews and Bacos noted that, despite challenges that the organization has faced, 100% of respondents said that Hope for the Day was a great place to work.

We're Charting a New Course for 2022