At Hands of Hope Ministries we strive to reach the mentally ill and meet their emotional, physical, relational and spiritual needs through various avenues.

We have begun a food bank ministry in College Hill where the mentally ill can get food through their caseworkers in emergency situations. This has been in operation for just about a year and we've already spent almost $10,000 feeding people. We have also provided Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at a mental health facility in Hamilton County. Click here to learn more...

Did You Know...

Did you know... In Ohio 2.3 million people have a diagnosed mental illness-that's 20%!!!

• Hamilton County - 164,000
• Butler County - 71,000
• Kenton and Boone Counties combined - 52,000

The mental health system in Hamilton County serves 18,500 adults. This means that number of people are having significant enough problems that they need assistance to meet basic needs such as housing, food, medicines, etc...

1 in 5 people suffer from depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and related diseases (information taken from NAMI - Hamilton County).

Did you also know...

1. Cincinnati has been rated the 3rd poorest city in the country; the poorest in Ohio
2. 28% of the city's residents live below the poverty line. (Family poverty level for a family of five is $22,610)
3. On any given night there are between 1200 and 1500 homeless people on the streets of Cincinnati - an increase of 150% from 15 years ago
4. 31% of the homeless are mentally ill
5. 31% of the homeless have an alcohol or drug addiction
6. 40% of the male homeless are veterans as opposed to 8% nationally

Effects of Severe Mental Illnesses...

(in addition to the symptoms themselves):

1. Social isolation
2. Very few, if any, friendships
3. Increased rates of drug use
4. Increased rates of having other diseases
5. Shorter life spans due to taking psychiatric meds over a long period of time
6. Difficulty finding work
7. Mentally ill are shunned by the community