The Hope Center plans to temporarily move its offices and Emergency Assistance Program into the former dentist’s office at 123 N. Court St. Hope Center administrators said they are still seeking a more permanent location that can house all of the organization’s ministries under one roof. (Journal-Tribune photo by Kayleen Petrovia)
The Hope Center has found one temporary location, although the organization is still seeking other spaces for additional services.
The organization’s offices and Emergency Assistance Program (EAP) will temporarily move into 123 N. Court St.
The Hope Center will have to vacate the former East Elementary School, 212 Chestnut Street, which the organization currently leases from the Marysville Exempted Village School District, by July 1. The district plans to reclaim the building to house its administrative operations.
Hope Center Executive Director Becky Bolt previously told the Journal-Tribune that the organization will temporarily split its operations, which are currently housed under one roof, into separate locations.
The EAP works in partnership with local churches and agencies to connect individuals in need with resources available.
The new location will act as the EAP site for confidential meetings with clients, during which volunteers and Hope Center employees help to assess the person’s situation and needs to determine appropriate resources.
Along with the EAP, the North Court Street building will house the Hope Center’s administrative offices.
In a statement released by Bolt, she wrote that she feels the organization’s ability to move into the building is a “God story.”
When the former dentist’s office was listed for sale, an individual helped facilitate a purchase by the Hope Center from owner Susie Strauss.
Bolt said Strauss “was very happy about selling to us and offered us a very good deal so that we could purchase the property.”
Strauss asked Hope Center administrators if they would be willing to name the property after her husband and daughter, with the hope of carrying on their legacy in the building.
Bolt said the building will be called The Jerry and Victoria Strauss Center of Hope.
“We were truly blessed when our paths crossed,” Bolt wrote.
Once the Hope Center finds a more permanent location that can again host all ministries under one roof, Bolt said the Center of Hope will become a “transition home” for those in need.
In the meantime, Bolt emphasized that the organization is still seeking space for its ministries, which include operations like a personal needs pantry, a clothes closet, a furniture bank and legal counsel, along with peer support groups and youth activities.
Additionally, the Hope Center is seeking a kitchen that will allow the organization to continue preparing and serving daily meals to community members in need.
Bolt wrote that she is confident that God will provide for the organization, and implored the community to continue to help in any way they are able.
“We are scrambling each and every day to try to make this happen, and know that it wouldn’t without God’s blessings on us,” she wrote.
Bolt asked that those who know of spaces that may be available to the Hope Center to contact the organization at operations@hopecenterohio.org.