The Hebrew Home at Riverdale has striven throughout its history to not only provide the highest quality of care to older people, but to also actively contribute to the larger community.  To that end, concern about the welfare of special ed students in an under funded, understaffed and overcrowded school system, prompted the Hebrew Home to develop the H.O.P.E program -- an intergenerational volunteer and vocational training program which provides at-risk youth with the opportunity to complete their education while receiving job training skills at the Hebrew Home for the Aged.  H.O.P.E. stands for Healthcare Opportunities Providing Employment. The program was started in 2004, and since then, more than 200 students have gone through the program.

Approximately 30 students each year from Columbus High School and Lehman High School in the Bronx study and work daily at the Home.  For several hours a day they receive job training in a variety of fields ranging from food services to nursing while the remaining part of their day is spent attending classes on the main campus of the Hebrew Home taught by teachers from the Department of Education.

Under the tutelage of experienced Hebrew Home staff, students are given the opportunity to engage with residents who have a lifetime of knowledge and experience to share.  In addition, the students participate in a Life Skills program which teaches them daily money management, interpersonal skills, personal hygiene, nutrition, and job interview skills.  

Since 2004, 15 of the students have been hired by the Hebrew Home and are currently on staff.

The H.O.P.E. program has a simple but ambitious goal - to ensure that its students complete high school and obtain the skills and experience to gain meaningful employment.  Since it started, H.O.P.E. has demonstrated positive results.  Preliminary data indicate that students not only make it to their classes – they show up on time – a marked improvement from their prior school attendance records.

H.O.P.E. is the only program of its kind in the United States.  Given its success, the H.O.P.E. program administrators are confident that H.O.P.E. will become a model service-learning program to be replicated with student populations across the country.