They weren’t even sure what they were going to do, but as soon as Brenda saw the first girl on the first corner, she asked Bill to stop. She put the window down and asked the girl if she wanted a bottle of cold water. Of course, the girl said yes and the next thing you know Brenda had hopped out, grabbed a cold bottle of water from the cooler, and was talking to and loving on a lady she didn’t know. That first encounter was the beginning of the ministry to the ladies on Broadway who are drug addicted and turn to prostitution in order to support their habits. After spending time with that first girl, they moved up Broadway. These encounters with the girls repeated themselves numerous times. Each time, the girls responded positively to the offer of a cold bottle of water and the unconditional love of a stranger. It didn’t take long for the outreaches to the girls on Broadway to become weekly and then more than weekly. For years, the ladies on the street looked for Brenda’s blue Trailblazer on Fridays, because they knew that they would be met with unconditional love, compassion, some type of food and other practical items. Relationships began and grew over the years, between Brenda and her small team of female volunteers, and the ladies on the street. Eventually, Brenda and her volunteers started to utilize the ministry bus to have a place of refuge, right on Broadway, for the ladies struggling on the street.   More recently, the SHAN team works with the local authorities to give the ladies an immediate opportunity to get help in the form of rehabilitation out of state.

1700 South Broadway

It was now evident that a permanent location was necessary to house these three branches of the ministry. A donor had given the ministry money to be used toward acquiring such a building, so, we waited and prayed. A few years later an abandoned building on the corner of Broadway and Carl Miller Boulevard caught the eye of Bill and Brenda. Brenda boldly declared that somehow, someway the Lord was going to put that building into the hands of the ministry. For months Brenda circled the building in prayer as it sat abandoned. On April 18, 2013 the ministry purchased that building at 1700 S. Broadway. The building now houses the offices of the ministry, is a residence for Bill and Brenda and operates as a safe house/drop-in center for the girls on Broadway. So today, in addition to the regular weekly outreaches, the ministry of She Has A Name also has in-reach to the ladies twice a week. There are breakfasts for the ladies every Saturday morning and lunches for the ladies every Wednesday. The girls on the street come in, get loved on, eat, rest, take a shower and get off the street. The ladies from the street know that this is a safe place for them.