On a Tuesday edition of the RNJ Morning Program, Morning Mike welcomed a couple of new neighbors to Studio #1. Megan Raftery is the Executive Director of the Hoving Home in Oxford, and Beth Greco is the CEO of this nonprofit organization. Hoving Home was founded in 1967 as a ministry helping young women reclaim their lives from prostitution, sex trafficking, and drug and alcohol abuse. The organization is named after Walter Hoving, the chairman of Tiffany and Company Jewelers, who facilitated the purchase of the first home in Garrison, New York. Over the years, the work expanded to Pasadena, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and, in March 2017, to New Jersey, at the former Mount Hope Camp in Oxford. In its 51 years of existence, Having Homes have helped over 23,000 women, with an 80 to 85 per cent success rate. Twenty-six percent are human trafficking survivors.
Megan Raftery shared that the home in Oxford can accommodate up to thirty women at a time. The first graduates from the program in Oxford left this spring. Megan said a great support network and an alumni group keep many in touch. About 40% of the women in the Hoving Home program are from New Jersey.
If you would like to know more about the Hoving Homes, especially our neighbors in Oxford, visit their website, hovinghome.org. Megan shared that they are hosting a family barbecue fundraiser on Saturday, August 18th, and the public is invited. Details are on the website.