Combined Palm Sunday worship service
SA Hope Center — new name, new ventures,
yet consistent commitment to Christ
BY AMY MORGAN
F R E E L A N C E W R I T E R
She was at the end of her rope. Born
into generational poverty and suffering
from its consequences, it only took one
bad relationship with her boyfriend to
land her on the streets. She was
running out of hope and considering
suicide. We have all made bad choices.
However, the consequences for most of
us are not nearly this staggering. Thank
goodness God provided help for her.
The SA Hope Center stepped in and
offered her a lifeline. The young
woman had stumbled into their first
satellite office in the basement of First
Presbyterian Church. Their case
manager, Janiece Cantu, befriended
her, helped her obtain identification, a
shower, clean clothes and, soon after,
safe shelter and a new job.
This story is just one of the
hundreds coming from people whose
lives have been changed by the
presence of the SA Hope Center,
formerly Christian Hope Resource
Center (CHRC), whose flagship
location opened in the 1980s. Around
2001, CHRC moved to the Westside. In
2005, CHRC opened its doors at 321 N.
General McMullen Drive.
The ministry formally changed its
name to SA Hope Center this October.
SA Hope Center’s beginnings were
as a benevolence ministry of Oak Hills
Church. Its 78207 zip code has earned
the reputation as one of the poorest
areas in the nation, with a poverty
level hovering at 42 percent. Counselors
and case managers at the SA Hope
Center stabilize families first with food
and connections to childcare, housing
and transportation. Then they transition
them to sustainable, holistic
stability by teaching workforce devel-
October / November 2019 www.saBeacon.com 4
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