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Construction continues on the new building for the Buckner Family Hope Center at Bachman Lake, but crews paused their work recently to allow Buckner friends to gather and give a special special prayer blessing on the property.

Friends and supporters of Buckner gathered on site for a time a prayer and wrote Bible Scripture and encouraging messages on the drywall of the building that will soon be serving local community families.

The Family Hope Center will help build strong families in a community where the child removal rate by Child Protective Services is twice the average rate of the rest of Dallas County and 96 percent of their students are economically disadvantaged.

During the blessing, prayers were said for the Bachman Lake families Buckner currently serves in the area while the building is under construction. Families like the Donjuans are already being changed in the community through programming and family coaching.

"I think it was one of the best things I could have done," Rocio Donjuan said about joining the youth leadership class at the Family Hope Center at Bachman Lake. "It taught me how to become a leader, which is very important. It taught me how to become more myself and become more confident in who I am."

Rocio's parents also benefited through parenting and job skill and business classes, allowing their family of eight to be stronger emotionally and financially.

And last year, Rocio became the first in her family to enroll in college, her dream since she was young. Rocio just entered her second year of school at El Centro College, pursuing a degree in nursing. While in school, she also holds a part-time job, helps her family and dreams of one day becoming a nurse practitioner.

The Family Hope Center, slated to open in early 2020, will be a place of hope where vulnerable families in this disadvantaged area of Dallas can gather, learn and grow together. The goal is to strengthen families where they can remain together, become self-sustainable and be full of hope to achieve their dreams.

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