In 2021, Kelly Harnish founded Hope Served, a Manheim-based organization with a mission of serving people with disabilities. Her vision has led to an expansion of the nonprofit, including additional staff and a new space that will soon become a community hub.

"This past year especially has been exciting," Harnish said. "We have been able to build a solid foundation. It's been really neat to connect with individuals in our community affected by disabilities."

One of the initiatives of Hope Served is the Individuals and Families Advisory Council (iFAC). This group meets regularly to talk about strengths of and challenges facing people with disabilities and to discuss how to best serve people with disabilities in the Manheim community. The next iFAC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Manheim BIC Church, 54 N. Penryn Road.

With a focus on older teens and adults who have aged out of school supports, Hope Served has identified three main challenges: helping people with disabilities feel like they're part of the community, providing access and information about job opportunities and seeking out options for housing.

To help achieve her goals, Harnish hired Wendy Johnson as chief operating officer in November. Under Johnson's direction, Hope Served plans to launch a capital campaign in the spring, and Johnson has been actively seeking out community members to introduce them to Hope Served and its mission.

Hope Served has entered in an agreement with Community Church of Manheim and has an office in the building at 201 W. High St. The organization's goal is to create a community space where people of all abilities can come and connect with one another. Within a few months, Hope Served plans to expand within the building, with the goal of constructing an addition in the next year. "We want this to be for everyone," Johnson said. "It's not just for people with disabilities. It's going to be a safe place, a place where everyone belongs."

While the new location will help with two of the organization's goals - creating a sense of community and offering job skills workshops and other opportunities for enrichment - Hope Served also plans to create housing options for people with disabilities. Last spring, the organization was the runner-up in a Lancaster County Land Bank Authority grant program and hoped to convert a firehouse in Manheim into ADA-compliant apartments, with a business on the first floor to employ people with disabilities. "Although the Land Bank awarded the project to another entity, they were very pleased with what we had brought to them," Harnish stated. "They said they would support us in future efforts as we're searching for grants and funding."

As the mother of several children with disabilities, Harnish is optimistic about what Hope Served can do for Manheim. "I'm excited to see what the future holds," she remarked. "As individuals who are affected by a disability become more integrated into the community, the community is going to be gobsmacked by the level of skill that is brought here and the untapped potential."

For more information on Hope Served, email Johnson at wendy@hopeserved.org or call 717-347-9785.