Hopewell

Hopewell Hopewell is a therapeutic farm community for adults with mental illness located in Mesopotamia, Ohio.

In addition to work crews, residents work with their clinical manager to select from a wide range of other therapeutic and interest groups such as:

Anger management Dual diagnosis issues

Equine Assisted Psy- Music - Instruction & per-
chotherapy formance opportunities

Dialectical Behavior Independent living skills
Therapy (shopping, cooking, etc)

Money management Creative expression

Meditation and Spirituality

High school diploma and other educational programs

11/04/2025

Hopewell’s 14th Annual David Cutler Conservatory Exploring Mental Health Series was a success!

Our recent session, “Substances, Symptoms, and Stigma: A Clinical Discussion on Psychosis and Addiction,” sparked powerful conversation and insight into how we can better understand and support those navigating complex mental health and substance use challenges.

Immense gratitude to our expert panelist David H. Baron at Yellowbrick, Chris Tuell, Ed.D. at Lindner Center of HOPE, and Hopewell's very own Dr. Andrew Hunt & Smantha Petti, NP for making this discussion possible.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this important dialogue. If you missed it — no worries! 🎥 We’ll be posting the event video in segments over the next few weeks so you can catch up and reflect at your own pace.

Check out Introductions & Panel Topic Overview by Hopewell Executive Director Colleen Welder & Hopewell Clinical Director Daniel Horne below, and stay tuned next week for "Framing of the discussion on what is Substance Induced Psychosis"

✨ Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday ✨ “I am grateful to work at Hopewell because I get to do real nursing where people ...
11/03/2025

✨ Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday ✨

“I am grateful to work at Hopewell because I get to do real nursing where people have the hope of getting better,” Jenna Schweitzer recently said. She came to Hopewell in July 2025 with 15 years nursing experience in geriatrics and working with adults with developmental delays.

“When I was ready for a change, something kept drawing me to Hopewell. After seeing a previous nursing position available I kept looking into it. I read all the Facebook posts kept checking out the website. Ultimately when I didn't see another job opening, I emailed in hopes that something would open up. I even drove out here to see what Hopewell looked like.” To see if it was a good fit, after her interview she shadowed Deb Cummins, nursing manager, for a day immediately accepting the job offer.

With medication management, Jenna found that “you get to participate in residents becoming more independent, getting better, becoming themselves again. There’s a real sigh of relief when medication is managed well enough so that they feel good about themselves. I try to build relationships with residents by talking with them and really listening, not just handing out medications.”
Family – her husband and children – is most important to Jenna. She likes to go hiking, biking, and on family vacations to Hocking Hills and Gatlinburg.

Thank you, Jenna, for everything you do for Hopewell! 🩺

10/28/2025

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined Hopewell for our first annual Fall Equinox Open House. Your presence made the day truly special as we celebrated the season of change and renewal together. It was a joy to open our doors, showcase the healing work that happens every day at Hopewell, and share the spirit of our therapeutic farm community with so many friends, neighbors, and supporters.

We are deeply grateful to our staff for their hard work, creativity, and warmth in bringing the day to life, and to our local community for your ongoing encouragement and partnership. Your presence and energy made this event truly special.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the farm soon—and to many more gatherings that celebrate growth, community, and hope.

🤝 A Huge Hopewell Thank you!A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined Hopewell for our first annual Fall Equinox Open...
10/28/2025

🤝 A Huge Hopewell Thank you!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined Hopewell for our first annual Fall Equinox Open House. Your presence made the day truly special as we celebrated the season of change and renewal together. It was a joy to open our doors, showcase the healing work that happens every day at Hopewell, and share the spirit of our therapeutic farm community with so many friends, neighbors, and supporters.

We are deeply grateful to our staff for their hard work, creativity, and warmth in bringing the day to life, and to our local community for your ongoing encouragement and partnership. Your presence and energy made this event truly special.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the farm soon—and to many more gatherings that celebrate growth, community, and hope.

🍂 With gratitude,
The Hopewell Team

✨Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday✨“I’ve got a great Hopewell story,” says Carl Vondracek, our new clinical manager. “I...
10/20/2025

✨Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday✨

“I’ve got a great Hopewell story,” says Carl Vondracek, our new clinical manager. “In my mid-twenties, when I was newly in the community mental health field, I was a case manager at Jewish Family Services Association. I brought a client or two out here when Hopewell first opened. I remember walking back to my car and thinking to myself, oh my gosh, I am going to work here in some part of my life.” Throughout his career, Carl continued to refer clients to Hopewell and receive referrals from Hopewell. Nearly 30 years later, that long-time dream came true this past summer.

Credentialed as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor, Carl mostly recently spent seven years as a clinical director at JFSA Cleveland/Akron, where he oversaw the community mental health program that included case management, counseling services, a mental health residential program, psychiatry and behavioral health nursing, all with the support of professional staff. “My heart is in community mental health,” said Carl. After a six-month sabbatical during which he entered private practice while he contemplated longer term professional plans, Carl found his place at Hopewell. He works three days a week at Hopewell’s Transition Program in Larchmere, and two days a week at the farm.

Carl says he is a “big outdoor person.” He spends his leisure time gardening and landscaping his one-acre yard with my family and three dogs. He is a wilderness camper, loves to kayak and fish, and has canoed the boundary waters of Minnesota and Algonquin Park in Canada. An annual highlight is a family and friends beach vacation in the Outer Banks.

Welcome, Carl!

OCD Awareness Week 2025: Educate, Advocate, Resonate.This week, Hopewell joins the global effort, led by the Internation...
10/16/2025

OCD Awareness Week 2025: Educate, Advocate, Resonate.

This week, Hopewell joins the global effort, led by the International OCD Foundation, to shed light on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) — a condition often misunderstood yet deeply impactful for millions. Join us in our efforts to:

💡 Educate- by sharing accurate information and breaking down misconceptions about OCD.
~~You are not alone: Hopewell offers residential treatment set in a therapeutic farm community for adults struggling with OCD by utilizing evidence-based programming & best practice standards through Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy among other modalities.

📢 Advocate- for compassion, access to care, and a stigma-free understanding of mental health.
~~Call to Action: Recently Hopewell staff & residents joined OCD MIDWEST in their Akron/ Canton OCD walk to help spread awareness and access to resources for families struggling with OCD.

🤝 Resonate- by amplifying real voices and lived experiences that remind us healing is possible.
~~Hopewell Resident Testimonial: "Since working in the ERP Program at Hopewell, I am more at peace, more positive, and have more energy...over time I was able to increase exposures and decrease distress and anxiety...the group work every day was very helpful, and I felt the support from peers."

Together, we can foster understanding, support, and hope for everyone affected by OCD. For more information on our services please visit our website at hopewellcommunity.org or call our admissions team at 440-426-2009.



International OCD Foundation

✨A Bittersweet Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday✨“My whole goal for 24 years was to make Hopewell the best and safest p...
10/13/2025

✨A Bittersweet Meet a Hopewell Team Member Monday✨

“My whole goal for 24 years was to make Hopewell the best and safest place for residents and staff.” – Rick Polch

After 20 years in construction trades in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, Rick Polch joined Hopewell, first as a contractor and then as Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. This month we are saying a fond farewell to Rick as he moves south to a new home. A member of our Leadership Team, Rick is also the Safety Officer, ensuring that Hopewell remains in full compliance with regulatory agencies, and is a member of several committees.

“When Hopewell was very new, I was a combination sherif, first responder, animal control, property liaison, maintenance director, and landlord of the homes on property. I always helped in all of the programs and had my team do things as well. Everyone who works here should always pitch in and help others. Everything was oriented to farm life back then and there was one clinician. I even helped as a program facilitator, taking residents bowling and holding a fishing tournament,” Rick remembered.

A major part of Rick’s job was licensing with CARF and ODMHAS (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, our licensing bodies). “The biggest part of their manuals is safety. I was responsible for developing policies and procedures that Hopewell still uses. But one thing I don’t do is typing and writing,” he smiled. “I was always thinking not only of what needs to be done now but what we will need five years down the road.”

This fall, Rick and his wife are moving south to be closer to a cabin on some property that his family owns. There he will be able to indulge in archery hunting and fishing, his two favorite pastimes. “I love sitting in the woods, watching for deer, seeing nature just explode with hawks, owls, bobcats, you name it,” he said. He has been training his two replacements for months – Andy Hunt and David Wolff. Now that he has time, he plans to visit Utah and Maine.

Goodbye, Rick, we thank you for everything. We wish you a fond farewell and best of luck on the next steps in your life’s journey!

Farm Chores with Audrey🧑‍🌾 🚜 Audrey K, writer of many of our social media projects, recently joined program facilitators...
09/02/2025

Farm Chores with Audrey🧑‍🌾 🚜

Audrey K, writer of many of our social media projects, recently joined program facilitators Ashley Derico and Tracy Omerzo, maintenance worker Navada Smith, and two dedicated residents for a brand-new experience: farm chores. These daily responsibilities are part of a broader system of work crews — such as the garden crew and cleaning crew — that form the backbone of meaningful work in our community.

Farm crew plays a particularly vital role in our nutrition program, as many of the animals raised on the farm contribute directly to our food supply. We raise cows, chickens, pigs, and turkeys for meat, and collect eggs from our laying hens. We also care for Bantam chickens

One of our residents who has participated in barn chores for 20 years, oriented me to the chicken tractor, an enclosure on wheels which is moved from place to place to provide birds with fresh grass every day. They also collected eggs twice today. Another resident helped clean the stalls and provided new sawdust and hay. We also replaced newspaper in the chicken coops.

Interestingly, only the farm animals who participate in therapeutic activities are named: Boomer, Shiloh, Zoey and Brandi, large ponies and mini horses who participate in Equine Assisted Learning, goats Noah and Blackjack, and Thomas, the playful barn kitty.

My brief hour of chores impressed me with the simple routine and rhythm – and hard work – that sustains and nourishes our community while providing satisfaction of work well done.

Address

9637 State Route 534
Middlefield, OH
44062

Telephone

+14404262000

Website

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