Hi friends, I’m Janelle Nelson, and I want to share a piece of my story with you, because everything I do at Hope WINS is rooted in the life I’ve lived and the roads I’ve walked.
I actually had a really good childhood, full of love, memories, and stability. But when mental health and puberty collided, everything changed faster than anyone could keep up with. What started as confusion and big emotions slowly turned into chaos, crisis, and systems stepping in when my family didn’t know where else to turn. As a teenager, I found myself navigating foster care, residential placements, and group homes. I learned early what it felt like to lose control of your own story, to feel alone in rooms full of adults, and to wonder if things would ever get better.
Those years didn’t define me, but they shaped me deeply. They taught me how it feels to be misunderstood, how hard it is when the system becomes your only safety net, and how desperately young people need compassion instead of judgment. Those experiences became the bedrock of the empathy I carry into this work.
In the middle of all that, I became a mom at a young age. While still trying to figure out who I was, I was suddenly responsible for tiny humans who depended on me completely. I sat in countless offices applying for assistance, trying to navigate resources, and doing everything I could to create a life for my kids that looked nothing like the instability I had lived through. I learned how to advocate, how to survive, how to push through exhaustion, and how to hold on to hope when it felt like everything was stacked against me.
As my children grew, so did our challenges. One of my kids and one of my grandkids have higher support needs, and suddenly I was navigating even more systems, specialists, therapies, and emotional weight. There were days I felt like I was drowning in acronyms, waiting lists, appointments, and fears. But every bit of that journey, every tear, every triumph, every lesson became part of the strength and softness I now bring to the families I serve.
I was born in Freeport and have lived here off and on throughout my life. This community raised me, challenged me, healed me, and became the home where I raised my five children. My educational background is in human services with a minor in abnormal psychology, and I have several certifications in holistic approaches, clinical tools, peer support supervision, family support supervision, and care coordination. But the truth is, none of my degrees or certificates qualify me to walk beside families the way my lived experience does. I have fought, survived, rebuilt, and grown through things that can’t be taught in any classroom.
Outside of Hope WINS, I own Rootz & Branchez, a downtown business that taught me sustainability, creativity, relationship-building, and community connection, skills that now shape the heart of my work here.
My Hope WINS journey started long before my staff badge. I was the first board member, helping build the mission from the ground up. During my second year on the board, I began
doing contracted work, helping with programming, events, and structure. And then, in one of the most meaningful turning points in my life, I became the Program Director.
Now, I get to help build the supports I once needed myself. I’m creating training models for programs like our R.I.S.E. Parent-to-Parent Partner Program, helping lead our R.I.S.E. Family Connection Nights and Parent Support Groups, and I occasionally get to spend time with the incredible kids at MAC Camp, who show more kindness and inclusion than most adults ever will.
I also manage much of our social media, fundraising, and community collaborations, because Hope WINS is meant to be woven into the fabric of our community. We feed families using meals from local restaurants, bring in speakers from local agencies, partner with craft studios, the library, the Y, downtown businesses, and dozens of local partners. And we don’t just ask them to join our events — we show up for theirs too.
Right now, I am pouring my heart into projects like,
• Sibling Workshops, because siblings need their own support too
• Moms’ Retreats, and hopes for more retreat styles to come
• Parent Support Groups, to give caregivers a place to breathe
• Strengthening the P²P mentorship program, so no family ever walks alone
• Building long-term sustainability, so Hope WINS is here for generations
What amazes me most is the heart of this community. Nonprofits supporting nonprofits, agencies working together, small businesses stepping forward without hesitation, and people choosing community over competition. It is rare, it is beautiful, and it is powerful.
Hope WINS isn’t just an agency,
It is a village,
A lifeline,
A soft place to land,
A reminder that every family deserves support, understanding, and hope.
And to go from a teenager lost in systems,
to a young mother navigating everything alone,
to now helping build a community where families are held and supported instead of judged,
is one of the deepest honors of my life.