Several members of the congregation of Crosspoint Church, doing community outreach under their #ForHernando program, assembled over the weekend to offer their support and services to the remodel and repair of The Life Center of Hernando (TLC).
TLC is a faith-based 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization which offers a safe home as well as life skill classes to new young mothers who have found themselves, due to various life circumstances, without a place to live. In November of 2011, a little over 10 years after the idea for TLC was conceived, TLC was blessed with facilities to both house mothers and children in need and offer classes for the new mother’s which would help them gain the stability they needed to get on their feet. Through an outpouring of community support, TLC was able to get the building repaired and prepared for families to move in and begin providing the much-needed services they offered. Two years later, in February of 2013, TLC had their first resident move into the house.
As a charity, with no solid revenue stream, The Life Center operates solely on the donations and support of the very community whom they serve. Over the past couple of years, the facilities at TLC have fallen into a state of disrepair and, with no certified tradesmen on the board of directors and no resources readily available, the house was in need of some serious TLC itself.
While having a conversation about TLC one day with Heidi Hofmeister (Crosspoint Church #ForHernando member), Barbara Lemoine (The founder of TLC) mentioned the significant issues facing the group home. Heidi happens to be a member of #ForHernando; an outreach program stemming from Crosspoint Church. She immediately took the needs to the director of outreach and an amazing restoration began to take form.
Nearly 40 volunteers showed up on Saturday, with Heidi leading the charge, and immediately began a myriad of projects ranging from clean up to construction work. The flooring was replaced, carport flooring was painted and sealed, plumbing issues repaired, trim replaced, walls painted, the building exterior was pressure washed, renovation trash removed, access ramps built from scratch, light construction to create a culvert to reroute rain run-off and that was not nearly all. All of the work was done by volunteers on a single Saturday at no cost to The Life Center; a veritable cascade of caring and community support the likes of which is rarely found in many communities.
Speaking to Barbara, you can hear the graciousness in her voice as she recounts how far TLC has come since its humble beginnings. Yet her plans don’t end here. Across the street stands three buildings with a for sale sign planted in front. Within those walls exists the space to house the current residents and learning center of TLC and provide room for expansion and growth. Barbara wants nothing more than to be able to secure funding to acquire that building for the home and plans are already in motion to make that dream a reality.
The expansion of TLC will include many additions to the program. Barbara wants to incorporate not only room for more mothers in need (of which there are many) but also an outdoor play area, a community food pantry, office space, a community garden, meeting rooms and additional resources all geared towards normalizing life and increasing opportunities for the residents. This will, however, come at a cost. With the window of opportunity to buy the buildings closing more every day, Barbara is reaching out to the community yet again for support and donations. TLC has set up a GoFundMe account and is asking anyone who can find it in their hearts to support this monumental transformation to consider giving. All donations are tax-exempt and will go specifically toward the expansion efforts. Their page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-motherrs-and-babies-need-shelter
How else can you get involved? If you cannot give monetarily, TLC is always seeking help in other forms. To see exactly how to support this wonderful organization through volunteering or donating household items/vehicles, visit their donations page at http://www.lifecenterofhernando.com/donation/
