Felix Ware (right), a homeless man who was hurt by a falling tree while working for a tree service, got housing and other help from the HOPES program. Nurse Marietta Douglas checks his hand strength.

A big cheer to the Greensboro News and Record in North Carolina for this article about the Healing Opportunities for People Experiencing Sickness (HOPES) program.

HOPES, which is run by social workers, nurses and other staff at Congregational Nurses Program at Cone Health, helps hospitalized people who are homeless recover and transition back into everyday life. Many have nowhere to go after surgery or a devastating accident.

The program, which is funded by a generous anonymous donor, provides housing, food, transportation and other services. Social workers and nurses also check on recently released patients, ensuring they are properly recovering.

National Association of Social Workers member Hope Rife, who is director of clinical social work at Cone Health, said the program is sorely needed. In 2011 she unsuccessfully tried to find housing for a homeless man who just had surgery.

All the shelters were full.

“He slept under a bridge that night,” she said.

To learn more about about how social workers help people who are homeless read “Family Safety Real Life Stories: From Homeless to Independent Living” at the National Association of Social Workers’ Help Starts Here website by clicking here.