By Guest Columnist MIKE MIES, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia

“Hope” may be an overused word. And it can mean many things depending on the circumstances and the context. A good friend of mine used to describe corporate stock options as a “Certificate of Hope.” I love that metaphor. Having lived through the dot-com bubble and had options that ended up worth nothing, I can relate. But in the context of stock options, the hope is really a “wish.” You know if that “hope” doesn’t come to pass, life goes on.

Mike Mies.

But for those experiencing insecurity in housing, hunger, or healthcare, hope is more fundamental. It is a lifeline that provides the motivation to keep going and the belief that things can get better. It is not a wish – it is a necessity. It is the fuel in the gas tank; it is what allows one to keep going. There is growing empirical evidence – see, for example, this recent article by Bruce Wydick, a Professor of Economics at the University of San Francisco – of the transformational power of hope as a best-practice intervention for moving low-income individuals and families out of poverty.

Unfortunately, many of our neighbors are struggling to remain hopeful. We see it every day in our work at St. Vincent de Paul Georgia. A single father with two young daughters two months behind on rent, expecting that the next knock on the door will be the sheriff processing the eviction. A divorced mother with 5 children under age 11 – two of which have been the victim of sexual assault – living in a small room at Studio 6. A young couple both recently laid off from work, with a one-year-old baby, living in a homeless shelter.

These aren’t stories. These are real people. Specifically, these are people who have sought help from St. Vincent de Paul Georgia just in the last week. And across the state, we visit with thousands of neighbors each week, many with similar situations. Last year, we assisted over…