
After being homeless for three years, H.O.P.E. Through Divine Intervention, Inc. (HTDI), Co-Founder, Jake Curtis, an honorable military veteran, accepted a two-fold spiritual calling to seek help for his own problems, and to find help for others. His heartfelt passion to help others came from his own pain, suffering, and addiction, Jake battled for more than 20 years. The vision was clear; however, it took time for him to accept the calling. On May 4, 1997, he cried out for help, and God answered his prayer by sending him to the Veterans Administration Hospital’s homeless program.
After meeting Co-Founder Selina Beene, later in 1997, while they were working in an addiction treatment center, he partnered with her to bring the vision for HTDI to life. In two years, Jake went from being a client, to resident manager, to driver, to peer counselor and then, finally to an employee. It was an important experience that helped him build a solid foundation for the tasks ahead, which ultimately led to the creation of H.O.P.E. Through Divine Intervention, Inc., (HTDI), co-founded by Jake Curtis and Selina Beene, in 2001.
Jake has attributed his success and sense of purpose to his personal relationship with God, the strong partnerships he has created in both his business and personal life, and his stated belief in the old proverb, “Give a man a fish he will eat today, teach him how to fish he will eat from now on!” Selina, a visionary whose motto has been, “When people live better, they do better,” has devoted her life to ensuring that chronically homeless individuals and families have access to quality, affordable, safe housing options and supportive services, necessary to overcome their special needs, such as HIV/AIDS, mental health, physical disabilities and substance abuse related issues, and other barriers to self-sufficiency.
Together, Jake and Selina established HTDI in response to the alarming increase of chronic homelessness in the Metro Atlanta Area. Both recognized a growing need among the homeless population, especially regarding housing, for individuals waiting to get into transitional programs and treatment centers. Committed to “Helping Other People Excel (H.O.P.E.),” they have found the most rewarding part of their work, at HTDI, has been to “see someone new come in, and to watch his or her life transformed right before their eyes!” “HTDI is God’s gift to us, how we take care of it is our gift to Him!” -Jake Curtis