Hope anchors the soul

The Guerin family has spent years serving alongside Russ and Jeannine Johnson, and their family, at Hope at the Brick House — and one gaga ball pit later, the connection runs deeper than ever.

On a Friday night on the west end of Davenport, a building that once housed a bar and, before that, one of the city’s roughest corners, fills with the smell of macaroni and cheese, the thud of a rubber ball against plywood walls, and the sound of kids calling out whose turn it is next. It’s a Friday night block party!

This is Hope at the Brick House. And one Friday a month, you’ll find Jason and Chelsea Guerin there, along with their daughter, Delaney, a first grader who has grown up thinking of this as simply part of life.

“We help serve, bring dinner, and wash dishes one Friday a month,” Chelsea said.

It sounds like a small commitment. For the Guerins, it has become something closer to a second home.

How it started 

The Guerins didn’t stumble into Hope at the Brick House on their own. They followed the Johnsons.

Russell and Jeannine Johnson, along with their son Ryan, his wife Kelly and their kids, have been serving at the Brick House for years. Kelly works there. The Johnsons brought the Guerins into the fold, and the connection between the two families goes back further than the volunteering itself.

Chelsea grew up serving meals at St. Joseph’s and at the Salvation Army with her own parents, St. Paul members Bob and Renee Wade, and extended family, an experience she credits with shaping how she sees people.

“That was a rough population, and I remember learning how not to be judgmental,” she said.

Jason’s background is in special education. The two met at the University of Northern Iowa, moved back to the Quad Cities, and started a family of their own, eventually finding their way to St. Paul.

They started serving before Delaney was born, paused briefly when she arrived early, and returned once she was two or three years old. Now Friday nights are simply part of the family’s rhythm.

“We wanted Delaney to have these experiences and connect in the community, to see that not every kid grows up the same way we did,” Jason said. “We probably get more out of the Brick House than we give.”

What a Friday looks like 

Meals happen every day at the Brick House, with a different group cooking each night. On the Guerins’ Friday, someone brings the main dish and the Guerins round out the meal, careful to provide access to important foods.

“I feel like kids need those fresh fruits and vegetables, the things on the healthy side that they may not always have access to,” Chelsea said.

The evening starts with a prayer, then dinner for kids and the adults who come with them. Games and activities follow. Afterward, Ryan and Jason wash, dry, and put away the dishes while the kids get a little playtime before chairs and tables come down for whoever is mopping that night.

“Some of the summer helpers who used to be in the program are now volunteers,” Chelsea said, describing a cycle Joyce Klopp, Brink House director, sees over and over. “Many of the staff and volunteers at Hope at the Brick House came through the program themselves as kids.”

For Delaney, it’s not an obligation.

“She likes going to the Brick House,” Chelsea said. “She’s included in helping and loves playing with the kids.”

Jason added that watching Delaney grow up alongside the other children who come to the Brick House, some older, some the same age, has become one of his favorite parts of the week.

“We’ve gotten to watch these kids grow up.”

The gaga ball pit 

This summer, Jason saw a way to improve outdoor time for the kids and quickly made it happen. His creation is a gaga ball pit, an octagonal wooden arena for a fast-paced, low-to-the-ground version of dodgeball that Joyce had been wanting for months.

“Jason showed up and said he wanted to build a gaga ball pit for us,” Joyce said. “I was in the process of purchasing one, so I applied for a grant to have the money for materials. He said, ‘I’ ve been thinking about this and I want to do that.’ That’s how it got started.”

Jason, or as Chelsea refers to him, “a handyman who is great with a two-by-ten,”  researched pit designs online, and he and Joyce each took photos and measurements of the space to plan the build. A crew of helpers showed up, fresh from CPR training that ended early with a few extra hours to spare. It rained on and off throughout, but by the end of the day, the loose screws were in and the pit was ready to play.

“It would have taken me a few days to complete on my own,” Jason said. “With everyone’s help, it was ready to play in three hours.”
The pit has already taken on a life beyond the game itself.

“I was able to go over one day, and they were doing a prayer circle using the gaga pit,” Chelsea said. “They’re using it for worship and mission as well as physical activity.”

Jason expects the structure to last decades.

A ministry of long standing 

Hope at the Brick House traces back to the 1980s, when the building was purchased by Youth for Christ. Joyce was on staff at the time and remembers reading the Bible’s creation story to kids on the property after one of the children pulled flowers from a barrel out front.

“They said, ‘You pulled God’s flowers, not Ms. Joyce’s,’” Joyce recalled. “That was the beginning of the educational piece of it, because the kids connected with the stories and started asking for the next one.”

The building later became an alternative school and a maternity home. It became Hope at the Brick House in 2015. Joyce has lived there for more than three decades and describes the ministry simply:

“It’s God’s place and God’s ministry, and I just happen to live here.”

Today, Hope at the Brick House offers an afterschool program, a summer program, homework help, meals, and neighborhood block parties in the summer, all built around a mission of giving hope to individuals and families through spiritual, educational and community-based support. Field trips to the pool, parks, churches, and other places around town requires the help of many. A small staff, Joyce as the only full-time employee, along with seasonal and part-time helpers, works alongside 25 to 30 volunteers on a typical week.

St. Paul has supported that work for years and provided $12,000 in mission outreach to Hope at the Brick House in 2025.

For the Guerins, the partnership is personal, built one Friday at a time.

“We couldn’t do what we do without volunteers like Jason and Chelsea,” Joyce said. “That’s the heart of who we are.”

 

Get involved
Hope at the Brick House welcomes volunteers of all kinds, from meal prep and serving to homework help and reading with kids after school. The ministry also accepts donations of napkins, plates, and plastic silverware, always in short supply. Learn more at hopeatthebrickhouse.org.