Hope Alliance breaks ground on future Leander center

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Hope Alliance broke ground Friday morning on a new Hope Center in Leander. The future Hope Center will serve victims of domestic violence in Williamson County, according to the nonprofit organization.

The future 1,000-square-foot center, located at 1161 W. San Gabriel Pkwy., will house 96 people, provide essentials, like counseling, legal advocacy, financial help and family services, and have a full kitchen and playground for the kids.

Hope Alliance is a nonprofit organization that helps those "affected by family and sexual violence," according to the nonprofit's website. The Hope Alliance serves more than 4,000 clients every year.

This project will more than double the amount of people the Williamson County Hope Alliance can serve.

KXAN spoke to the nonprofit's board president, who talked about the hope and life-changing impact their programs provide.

"When [clients] come to us, they're given a questionnaire on how much hope they have in their life, and then during the process of six weeks, they'll take another hope score test. And then at the end when they exit, they take it again. And we see clients that go from a 50% hope score up to the high 90s," President of Hope Alliance Renee Petsche said.

Construction on the new center is expected to take about a year.