By CHRISTINE OLIVA The Kansas City Star
Date: 05/02/00 22:15
Copyright © 2000 The Kansas City Star

At 3:13 one Sunday morning in November, Kelly Frank received a desperate phone call from a stranger.

In a barely audible whisper, full of fear and pain, the woman begged Frank and the volunteers at the Blue Hills Family Life Center to pray for her. She said she was in an abusive relationship and she couldn't take it anymore. But she left no phone number and asked them not to track her down.

"I'd like to say that situation was unique," said Frank, executive director of the nonprofit organization. "But it's very typical of the types of things we deal with on a daily basis. There are a lot of people out there who are hurting and searching for hope. But they don't know how or where to find it."

Frank, who has been running the center since September, is doing her best to provide the social, economic and spiritual assistance her clients need to get back on their feet. The center recently moved from its original location on the 5200 block of Wayne Avenue to the more visible corner at 55th Street and Troost Avenue.

Tuesdays through Thursdays, the center opens its food pantry and clothes closet, where clients can come once a month to get some of their needs met.

"We're finding that a lot of clients...are becoming frustrated because they get caught in the system," Frank said. "We try to not leave people hanging."

Frank and the Blue Hills volunteers work with families to make sure they receive the services they need. In the future, they hope to begin an intensive program to strengthen urban families.

"As I'm out on the streets talking to people, I'm amazed at how much dysfunction there is," Frank said. "I want to bring hope to people and keep encouraging them because I know a lot of them are just trying to survive the day and make it through."

Her passion for people began with a commitment Frank made to herself as an "egocentric" teen-ager.

While on a mission trip to Honduras she saw the poverty and the living conditions of the people and they changed her perspective on life. She came back motivated to help those around her.

"Lord, help me never to forget what I've seen here," Frank prayed. "And help me to have the courage to do something about it someday."

The Lord didn't bring her back to Honduras, but he guided her to Kansas City, she said.

After earning a degree in social work from Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois, Frank moved to Kansas City and worked as a house parent at a home for unwed mothers, then as an administrative assistant at the Church of the Nazarene headquarters. When Frank heard about the center's need for a director, she jumped at the chance to make a difference in her community.

Bo Cassell, Youth in Mission coordinator at the Nazarene headquarters, said she is just the person to do that.

"The thing Kelly enjoys the most is to be able to take somebody else's dream and make it happen," he said. "She'll be a great link between the community and outside resources."

One of the center's main goals is to empower the clients, Frank said. She encourages them to not only be receivers but also givers.

"Everybody has something to give," she said. "Some of us have resources and some of us have time. We all have to work together and give what we can."

Since February, about 60 volunteers -- many of them clients -- have donated more than 800 hours of service. They do everything from answering the phones to sorting clothes to entering data on a computer.

"They're so excited because they're learning these things that they never thought they'd be able to learn," Frank said.

Their work could entail something as simple as making a photocopy, but what impresses Frank is seeing her clients shift their thinking. Instead of reacting to their situations they are taking the initiative to be proactive.

"It's an incredible feeling," Frank said. "There are so many challenges. But to see the changes the clients are making -- it's like this is why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm not making the money. There are not a lot of material rewards. But the joy of knowing that you've helped somebody keep on keeping on is very fulfilling."

And there have been challenges.

Everything was going great in the new location until construction workers near the building hit a water and sewer pipe that flooded the basement last month, Frank said. While they were trying to fix that, they hit a gas line, which also leaked into the building. And just when Frank thought they could start cleaning up, the basement flooded again.

The center had to close temporarily until contractors could come in and repair the damage.

"People always say it's a real spiritual battle when you're working in the inner city," Frank said. "I knew that coming into this position, but I didn't think it was going to be like this."

But the positive still outweighs the negative, she said.

"I know I can't conquer the world, though I'd love to think that I can," Frank said. "But I can at least give one person hope. That's my goal."

To reach Christine Oliva, call (816) 234-4759 or send e-mail to coliva@kcstar.com