Center of Hope to open long-anticipated facility

The St. Mary Parish Council took a few moments out of their meeting Wednesday to hear a guest speaker deliver some good news coming out of the community regarding young people in the area with special needs.
Kristal Hebert, Executive Director of the St. Mary Center of Hope, appeared before the council to give them an update on progress made on their new facility in Centerville and to thank the council for their support of the project. Hebert said the new facility had been a long time coming and has already made a difference in the lives of community members with special needs.
“I am here to thank you for the funds for the new building,” Hebert said. “Without it, we wouldn’t be here today. The old building was in such poor repair that we wouldn’t have been able to keep it open another month. You all are what made this happen for us.”
Hebert said the grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility will be on Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. at the Center of Hope. She said in addition to being a safer environment, the new building has provided opportunities for recreational activities they have not enjoyed at the Center of Hope for some time.
“They are able to dance again on Fridays like they used to,” Hebert said. “They couldn’t do that for years. We also have a lot more interest in the program now. People are excited about the new building and we are getting a lot more support.”
St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff also commented on the new facility.
“This was a long time coming,” Hanagriff said. “It’s a great facility and it will continue to have the support of this council.”
In other business, the council passed a resolution authorizing the parish president to execute an agreement with a construction company relative to the reconstruction of the Chitimacha Trail Road from La. 326 to La. 670.