Tom Yoo is Deacon and organizer for the Hope Ministry and says he became involved when his job landed him in the S.W. area of Baltimore City in 2001. While driving back and forth to the office through the communities he would often see women who appeared to be haggard and lost walking the streets prostituting themselves to feed an addiction to heroin that was slowly but surely destroying them. Tom would think about how horrible it must be for them to wake up every morning only to go to the streets and be abused by strangers to support a drug habit. Tom thought what if this was my mother or my sister.

Tom knew that the Jesus he believed in, the same Jesus that walked the earth and sacrificed his life for all would want something to be done to help, and 5 years ago that is exactly what Tom did.

Strider, Tom & K.Z.

Though the figures & statistics in Baltimore City never seem to sound good, Tom and the Hope Ministry have seen the successes and have also felt the heartbreak of loss by getting involved but they still believe that change can come even if it is one person at a time.

Hope Ministry is an outreach program

of Bethel "His Way Ministry" Church located in Ellicott City.

For the past 5 years, HOPE Ministry has conducted outreach in the SW

Baltimore area surrounding Wilkens and Payson Avenue to reach out

mainly to women trapped in heroin addiction; to help these women escape

the prison of addiction.

�The many reasons some turn to drug or alcohol abuse can stem from an abusive upbringing to an introduction to drugs by friends or relatives, but some of the women who have become addicted to drugs turn to prostitution in order to support what could be a one to two hundred dollar a day habit. The ministry workers say that many of the users are not from this area but come to this location because of the supply of drugs and money.

His Way Ministry takes to the street

The members of HOPE Ministry visits the S.W. community twice a month with volunteers who provide gifts of food, sodas, encouragement and most important friendship and guidance.By listening to the woman on the street the HOPE volunteers are able to build trust with those in need who usually tend to shy away from any organized or social group that may want to intervene, change or condemn their current way of life.

The Ministry during a visit, with food, gifts, song, advice and cheer.

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The members of HOPE Ministry visits the S.W. community twice a month with volunteers who provide gifts of food, sodas, encouragement and most important friendship and guidance. By listening to the woman on the street the HOPE volunteers are able to build trust with those in need who usually tend to shy away from any organized or social group that may want to intervene, change or condemn their current way of life. By creating this bond of care the Hope ministry is then able to help guide the woman to enroll in an in-patient detox program (Rides and the admission cost are both covered by the Ministry)When the woman exits the program the ministry continues to play an important roll of support by their continuing efforts to provide long term encouragement to help the ladies stay alcohol and drug free, by providing bible studies on Friday nights, having church members visit and move in the neighborhoods, holding block parties and other community oriented events. The Hope Ministry is trying to expand their outreach program to help the men in the area as well.