It's about the organization. It's about the mission. It's about the people.

It's not about bricks and mortar. But a building provides the structure that can bring everything together.

Hope Inspire Love has a new home. It's a space that the local human-trafficking opposer can call its own.

"This is for us to provide more services," said Amy Thurston, Hope Inspire Love's president and CEO. "We want to grow our programs. This is just how we've evolved in the community. Now our name is on the side of a building. People will walk by and say, 'What's Hope Inspire Love about?' Having a brick-and-mortar building will cause people to want to get involved, to get behind it. This is the launch pad to make it happen."

On Dec. 13, 2023, Hope Inspire Love hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at its new digs at 1380 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster. The event was attended by about 100 community members, clergy, volunteers, board members and individuals whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by human trafficking.

"The atmosphere was wonderful, because it was beautiful people coming together to support one cause," said Thurston. "There was a certain energy there. We're not a home. We're a place where people can come and get services. It was really neat because people were asking how they could get involved."

Before settling into the 1,100 square feet at 1380 Harrisburg Pike, Hope Inspire Love had no real office space. Most of its face-to-face work was being performed at coffee shops or libraries or churches.

"After COVID-19, we went remote," said Thurston. "We have not had a permanent home since 2020. It was very tough. It kept costs low, but we were seeing that people didn't know how to find us, and we couldn't help them."

"Having an actual location where people can come to, it's just so great," added Thurston. "We want to have a safe place where our community can come and heal. We've already had people come in and say, 'I've been looking for you.'"

The move to 1380 Harrisburg Pike culminated a nearly two-year search for Hope Inspire Love. Some of the $65,000 raised at the organization's inaugural Hope for Freedom gala in June of 2023 was used to fund the relocation and to purchase furnishings.

"After COVID, we paused and asked ourselves, 'Is this what we really want to do?'" said Thurston. "We wanted to be right outside the city. We wanted anyone to be able to walk through our door. We wanted to have a space with great lighting, parking spots, and there's a bus stop right outside our door. It has an open floor plan, and the intake office in the back can be utilized for connecting in the future."

Hope Inspire Love's new office space also represents a milestone in the organization's process of progress.

"At the beginning, we were so focused on education," said Thurston of the organization, which was founded in 2017. "We probably thought about the office originally 10 years ago. I never thought it would happen in year six. But we can't do this alone. What's blown us away is that we now have three full-time staff members and over 50 volunteers. We are so grateful and so thankful for a great community."

For additional information on Hope Inspire Love, go to http://www.hopeinspirelove.org.