Helping Hands helps to bring hope to those struggling [The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.]

Dec. 25--Iris Williams remembers her skepticism.

She just wanted to check out the clothes closet and get food from Hyland Heights Baptist Church's pantry.

When the innocuous-looking man at the entrance that morning handed her a flyer with an image of hands and a dove on the corner, she was leery of both Bill James and his spiel for Take My Hand Ministries.

Five months later, Williams is certain "God must've put them in place for me."

"I just needed some guidance and some support," said Williams. "I certainly didn't expect the outcome."

"Everything seems to be looking up now."

At the time Williams, a widow, was struggling to get a loan modification and needed healthcare. It seemed neither the bank nor her finances were cooperating. After spending more than an hour with James, she agreed to let him and his small group of volunteers into her life.

"They're very resourceful, they put me in touch with the right people," said Williams, who is on disability. Not long after Take My Hand joined her fight, the bank approved a loan modification on her mortgage and Williams was enrolled in a Christian counseling program.

Those are but a tiny fraction of the actions Take My Hand Ministries has taken since its creation in August 2011. Already the group has served 200 clients, with everything from house repairs to finding ways to pay bills. Staffed by 10 volunteers, Helping Hands is using the pantry at Hyland Heights to connect with potential clients. James hopes to be able to reach even more people in the coming months.

"I didn't know what to expect when I started this," said James, a member of Hyland Heights who got the idea after speaking with pantry clients who revealed to him hunger is just one of the problems they face.

So on most Wednesday nights and the second Thursday of each month James and his volunteers fan out across the pantry to find out who, if anyone, might be interesting in letting Helping Hands offer assistance.

By using their contacts, muscle and calling in favors volunteers teach budgeting skills, time management, how to balance a checkbook, help with Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, help fill out insurance forms and follow up on claims, find agencies that can help clients pay bills, help with unemployment forms, connect people with employers, help widows manage their affairs, connect clients with agencies offering transportation and more than anything, let clients know there is support if you just know where to look.

"We try to show by what we're doing," said James who at times worries he's used up all his favors. "We try to have the buck stop with us," said James.

Along the way, says volunteer Molly Levering, they remain patient, always hoping clients will ask why they do what they do so they can talk about their faith.

Clients don't have to be church members or even believers in order to be served by Helping Hands Ministries, said Levering, but volunteers do want to share the message.

"It's where we feel hope lies," said Levering.

Actions alone seem to have made the message clear to Williams.

"I wasn't hopeless before, I was trying. But now I'm feeling better about things. I feel more positive about forging ahead," said Williams. "I've learned that all is not lost, there is help out there. It's really changed my attitude."

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