Sean C. Morgan
Solely through donations, the HOPE Center has a new roof.
The project was completed in March.
“As a result of the last article (in The New Era), a couple from Sweet Home who had been in that field (construction) took it upon themselves to get the roof built,” said Sandi Hegge, co-director. The benefactors asked to remain anonymous.
The HOPE Center had a bid for $20,000 to do the project, Hegge said. The couple was able to get the cost down to $15,500, and nearly all of it was donated as cash or supplies.
Several businesses donated to the project, Hegge said. Alamo Roofing did the project, with donations used to cover labor costs.
Sweet Home Sanitation donated the dumping, Hegge said. Donations were also provided by Certainteed, Roofline, Alamo and the city of Sweet Home.
The city provided $5,000 in cash, money allocated to several charitable organizations in 2011 by the Budget Committee and City Council.
The project also had four anonymous individual donors, Hegge said. Additionally, the recent high school Battle of the Sexes competition provided cash.
The girls won, and their chosen charity was the HOPE Center. Four girls recently presented a $500 check to the center.
The HOPE Center is continuing to pay off a debt for replacing its fire suppression system.
“It was something that was desperately needed,” Hegge said. The building, located at the intersection of Kalmia and 12th, had a leak in a room, and water was leaking through the wall near an exit.
‘It was just an enormous need,” said Litta Montiel, co-director. “I don’t even have any words except God is great.”
The HOPE Center was established by Sharon Pryor and Esther Bennett in 1990 to help women and children in crisis who are ready to make changes.
The facility can house up to nine mothers and children. The center operates solely on donations and the support of churches.
Women served by the HOPE Center go there for a variety of reasons. It could be something they need to prove to a probation officer. They may be escaping abuse. Others come from living in their cars or a variety of other tough situations where they need help.
The HOPE Center currently has three residents, and it now has a “house mother,” Kathi Downs, who also lives at the center.