After 27 years, Jean M. Johnson is leaving her post as executive director of House of Hope Community Development Corporation, which she and other committed citizens founded as a two-family shelter in a converted schoolhouse and developed into one of Rhode Island’s most foremost organizations working to end homelessness.

Johnson, who could not be reached for comment, tendered her resignation to the board earlier this week.

Johnson has been the sole executive director of House of Hope, which develops affordable housing and provides social and counseling services. Last year, House of Hope served approximately 1,000 homeless people at 22 sites throughout Greater Providence.

According to a release issued yesterday afternoon, Stephen M. Miller, president of the board of directors, noted that Johnson’s leadership has shaped every aspect of House of Hope, from its dedication to compassionate, individualized service to clients, to the color of doors to its attractively restored apartment buildings and homes.

“Jean is House of Hope, pure and simple,” Miller said. “It’s hard just to imagine House of Hope without her at the helm. But we are confident that the legacy she has created will give us the firm foundation to continue the goal of ensuring that one day, homelessness in Rhode Island will be as brief an occurrence as it is rare.”

Mayor Scott Avedisian likewise lauded Johnson’s commitment and tenure.

In an email he said, “She has always been a woman of intense passion and conviction, and has been the driving force behind the 27 successful years of the House of Hope. People can have vision.  Some people see big picture. Some dream big.  Some see small incremental change.  Jean Johnson saw all of that. She was equally comfortable talking about a grand plan to end homelessness to sitting with an individual client about a small problem, to being part of the social service fabric of this city working to solve problems.  I do not know what her next 25 years will bring, but I am sure that there will be some big picture visions, some small incremental changes, and a whole lot of listening to, and working for the individual person.”

Named as interim executive director and interim associate executive director, respectively, are two of House of Hope’s top managers, Laura Jaworski, currently associate director for policy and programs, and William E. Stein, MSW and LICSW, associate director of clinical services.

The two will direct House of Hope during a wide-ranging search for a permanent director, which will begin immediately. Both Jaworski and Stein will be invited to be among the candidates.

“It has been an honor and my sincere pleasure to serve as Executive Director of House of Hope CDC for the past 27 years,” Johnson wrote in a letter to the board of directors.

“Under my leadership, House of Hope has grown from a small, neighborhood based, volunteer grass roots organization to a statewide agency serving thousands of Rhode Island’s disabled and disadvantaged men, women, and children from homeless through to home ownership.

“I am very proud of the award winning work I have been able to accomplish with the help of an exceedingly dedicated and professional staff as well as with the support of a compassionate Board of Directors,” she continued. 

“However, the time has come to turn the reins over to a new leadership and a new Executive Director who will continue to carry forward the values and principles that have made House of Hope the most effective social service organization in the state,” Johnson said in a statement.

Efforts to reach Johnson directly were not successful.

According to the release, Johnson first broached the possibility of leaving two years ago, when she shocked the board of directors just by mentioning that the time might come when she would relinquish the post. This began a process of identifying the many roles that Johnson has played and the qualities needed to continue House of Hope’s values and mission.

As the directors discussed the agency’s leadership recently, they concluded this might be an appropriate time, which coincides with the beginning of the agency’s new fiscal year beginning on July 1, when program changes are made reflecting the funding streams from state and federal governments that support much of its programs. Recently the state chose not to renew its contract with the House of Hope to run Harrington Hall, the homeless shelter for men based in Cranston.

Miller, said that the board asked Johnson to consider continuing relationship with House of Hope as an independent consultant, in which she would explore new solutions to homelessness and evaluate the effectiveness of existing approaches.

House of Hope operates in two general fields: as a community development corporation, it develops affordable apartments and homes for individuals and families who are seeking to return to safe, stable homes.

The agency also provides a variety of services to the state’s homeless population, often coordinating with other organizations and government units to link homeless people to medical, employment, educational, transportation and other services.

Over the years, House of Hope has been recognized for its innovative approach to ending homelessness.

Last month, it received a “Best Practices Award” for non-profits, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island through the Rhode Island Foundation, for “Volunteer Engagement,” including work by the agency’s PATH program in which volunteers, ranging from those who were once homeless to medical and nursing students, help homeless persons living on the street navigate the medical system.

Four years ago, House of Hope was recognized for historic preservation by careful restoration of buildings for affordable apartments and offices. One development was the agency’s headquarters campus on Post Road, Warwick, a group of brightly painted yellow buildings not far from City Hall.

One of its biggest undertakings began in 2009, when House of Hope took over the management contract for Harrington Hall in, the state’s largest emergency shelter with over one-hundred beds. House of Hope instituted intensive casework for shelter guest, many of them homeless for years, and helped hundreds of them find permanent homes.

Johnson’s interest in the homeless began as a student at St. Francis Xavier Academy, run by the Sisters of Mercy, where her instructors promoted social justice and included Sister Arlene Violent, who later became the state’s attorney general.

Johnson would befriend the city’s “street people,” who she talked to as she would anyone else – “they were really kind and wonderful to me.”

“We like to think of ourselves as kind of a community,” Johnson said in an interview when the agency celebrated its 25th anniversary.

“There are people who come to House of Hope for a lot of reasons,” she said, “but basically, they start off as homeless. And they end up not just with a home, but with a family.”