Delivering on its promise to help families at risk of or experiencing homelessness, Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley opened a resource center and transitional housing units in Newhall on Tuesday morning.   Laurie Ender, Family Promise board member, said she and Chris Najarro, executive director of Bridge to Home, dreamed about a resource center like the Williams Family Hope House 10 years ago when they worked together at the original resource center.   Laurie Ender, board member of the board of trustees for Family Promise, tells the crowd about her dream to create this resource center a decade ago during the grand opening of Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley – Williams Hope House in Newhall on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “Chris and I were in what was our resource center at the time discussing how limited we were and what we were able to do for the families we were assisting,” said Ender. “We were really stuck at just having 90 days of having a family in the program before we need to move them out into housing or to find another program that would work for them, and it just wasn’t enough.”  Ender said she started to talk to Lance O’Keefe, board president of Family Promise, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and the Santa Clarita City Council to support a new resource center project.  Ten years later, O’Keefe was now welcoming city officials, community members, and partners who helped worked toward opening the new Williams Family Hope House and New Family Apartments.  Lance O’Keefe, president of the board of trustees for Family Promise of Santa Clarita, speaks to the crowd during the grand opening of Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley – Williams Hope House in Newhall on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “Family Promise believes that every family deserves a chance to thrive and today we’re taking a major step toward making that reality for even more families in our community,” said O’Keefe.   The purpose of this new resource center and transitional housing unit is to create a home where people can regain their footing and find renewed purpose, added O’Keefe.  Mayor Cameron Smyth was joined by Councilwoman Marsha McLean and Councilwoman Laurene Weste at the ceremony.   Smyth said that the new resource center will be a place for people to find compassion, support, and resources with the help they need to get back on their feet and back into permanent sustainable housing.   He said that the city has been a long supporter of this project, and the city helped through grants, donation of the land the resource center was constructed on and helping close the funding gap by partnering with Barger with matching $500,000 donations.   “It’s not to give them a handout, it is to give them a hand up,” Barger said about the mission of Family Promise. She added that homelessness is one of her top priorities and that organizations like Family Promise are critical partners to communities because they help provide services that propel families forward out of homelessness.   O’Keefe played a recording from Roche Vermaak, former executive director of Family Promise, talking about the grand opening.   “Today, what you are seeing is the realization of 10 years of dreaming about a resource center and a site with where families can exit homelessness and have a place to live to start building back their lives, to find work, to save money, and find permanent housing,” said Vermaak.  Solange Ajeck shares her story with the crowd during the grand opening of Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley – Williams Hope House in Newhall on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Solange Ajeck turned to Family Promise SCV after she was separated from her partner and left to support herself and her son. She said when she was on her own she thought she would be OK with $10,000 but before she knew it the money was gone.   “Sometimes things will happen to you so that you can educate yourself about real life because then I started to understand that I don’t know real life, and that I was spoon-fed,” said Ajeck.   Facing homelessness and not having a job, Ajeck said she found Family Promise SCV online and after she emailed them, the next morning they contacted her and immediately started the process of getting her help.  “Within a few days, the person helping me said, ‘You can come to the house.’ And I said, ‘The house is free?’ and they said, ‘Everything is free,’” said Ajeck.   She added that she was shocked to have the kind of help that Family Promise was providing and that they helped her get on her feet again. Ajeck said after she left Family Promise, they continually set her up for success and she is now obtaining her master’s degree in cybersecurity.   Sadie and Lance Williams with Williams Homes said they were proud and grateful to be given the opportunity to help build the resource center and transitional units. They also thanked Living Spaces for donating the furniture and decor for the units.   “It’s time to get these units filled with families, love, laughter and the hope of a new tomorrow,” said Sadie Williams.   Family Promise, along with councilmembers, cut the ribbon during the grand opening of Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley – Williams Hope House in Newhall on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Before officially cutting the ribbon, O’Keefe invited Pastor Andy Mattick from Valencia United Methodist Church to bless the site.   “It looks like we get to cut a ribbon to go into something, but the simple truth is we are cutting a ribbon to free something to our community,” said Mattick. “The stories of hope and possibility and newness and work still to be done and all that might be accomplished.”   The post Family Promise SCV opens Williams Hope House in Newhall  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.