Emily walked into Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries three years ago unsure of what to expect. She thought she would just hurry in and get those groceries people had told her about. She was kindly offered time with Carolina, a case manager, “I don’t have time she thought,” but something in her heart stirred and she agreed. “That meeting was the beginning of hope,” reflects Carolina remembering back to those first meetings.
Carolina listened and learned Emily was in the grip of an abusive marriage and with the ups and downs of their finances, they could barely feed their two children. Fear was driving every part of her life. Emily decided to sign up for the Family Mentoring Resource program, and she and Carolina started to put together goals. As part of the mentoring program, she received regular food boxes, diapers, and many other essentials. She also received ongoing support and guidance and was put on the list to be matched with a mentor. Her faith in God grew stronger. Now she knew she had people who would be there through the difficult journey to safety and stability. Eventually, her husband was incarcerated and the chaos in the home changed to peace.
March came and her housecleaning business suddenly stopped due to COVID-19. Emily says she did not panic even though she was the sole income provider for her children. She knew she had support at HCDBM with food, diapers, and clothing for the kids, and someone to help her connect to jobs and resources. Emily told her mentor that she had learned a valuable lesson: “As Paul says in scripture, I have learned to be content in good times and bad times; in riches and poverty.” She talks about how differently she handles life now and knows God will be there through it all. She now lives with hope for her future. Recently Emily was able to get work. She is so grateful for the way that the community comes together through HCDBM and helps struggling people.
This type of care happens because HCDBM goes beyond a handout. HCDBM is dedicated to being a toolbox of training, resources, and support to bring the love of Christ to families, at-risk children, individuals, the elderly, and the disabled who are struggling with crisis and need throughout eight counties.
HCDBM’s family programs center around the integration of physical resources with loving and consistent one-on-one relationships and collaborates with local church partnerships. The distinction of HCDBM’s unique and effect programs is the on-going training provided to the church partners to establish and manage relational outreach mentoring programs. Each church partner works in collaboration with HCDBM case managers and product distribution staff. HCDBM provides the screening and administrative support.
In the beginning HCDBM saw that the children of the families they serve needed their own specialized mentoring program. As a result, the Stand-by-Me student mentoring ministry was established in 2011. This highly effective program serves K-12th grade at-risk children and matches them with mentors and provides opportunities for these children to find their identity, not in their situations, but in Christ. They learn that God has a plan for their lives. One indicator of the success of this program is the graduation rate of 96% as compared with the national average for children in poverty of 65%.
“We learned over the years that there is no such thing as a quick fix. The reason that people persist in poverty for generations is because they only get hand-outs. Young or old, what people really desire is someone to be there to provide emotional and spiritual support. We stick with them while they work hard to tackle the complex issues that make it difficult to break the cycle of poverty,” says Agnes Hubbard. “We see miracles everyday through the power of Jesus Christ.” Agnes remarks that this, their 20th year in ministry, has been a game changer. “COVID-19 has brought people to us who have never had to ask anyone for help. We make sure people’s dignity is preserved and they experience the love of Christ.”
Throughout the COVID crisis, HCDBM has served as an essential agency in eight counties. They report they have already served as many people as they did in all of 2019. They project over 3,000 people will be served this year through HCDBM’s Family Mentoring program and 50,000 through their combined programs. The COVID Emergency Relief program is still providing food and non-perishables to relief efforts. HCDBM’s provides products at no cost to over 80 local non-profits through their Community Resource Program. HCDBM expects to distribute a record $5 million dollars’ worth of food and other basic resources this year.
During this unprecedented time, HCDBM is asking for the community’s support to so that they can continue to provide essential services for the Hill Country. You can donate at hillcountrydailybread.org or mail a check to 234 W. Bandera Rd #133, Boerne, TX 78006. The phone number is (830) 755-5200. HCDBM also welcomes donations of food, clothing, diapers, and other essential hygiene products that can be dropped off at the warehouse at 38 Cascade Caverns Rd, Boerne.