SAKS of Love partners with Tenaha Hope Clinic

A new location Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for SAKS of Love was conducted Saturday, August 5 in Tenaha. The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, staff from Hope Community Medicine of Tenaha, and well-wishers were present to celebrate the non-profit’s new location at 164 Wall Street across from Hope Community Medicine.

SAKS of Love Executive Director Christina Leary founded the organization in 2017 on the awareness of senior citizens needing support and love. The organization provides assistance to not only senior citizens, but also to families in need of household supplies, clothing, food and prayer.

“We need more places like this,” said Leary during Saturday’s ribbon cutting. “Who would’ve thought that a medical healthcare center would team up with SAKS of Love? This is what it’s all about. This is something that’s never been done. But today, we can say it’s being done. We’ve got good quality healthcare and we’ve got good quality human services all joined together and I give God the praise,” she said.

Leary said of her staff, “This has been a hard journey. It’s been a long 45 days. I can’t thank this group right here enough,” she said.

“We have done night after night, day after day. We work on our breaks; we’ve brought our kids up here. We didn’t think we’d be here today, and I’m just so grateful,” she said.

Mike Belgard, PA-C, Chief Executive Officer of Hope Community Medicine, gave thanks to his team at Saturday’s ribbon cutting, “One day we had a meeting ... we do a lot of medicine, mental health, women’s health … we’re doing all of these health projects. But there’s something that’s missing. And that is determinants,” he said.

Belgard explained the determinants in health that determine how healthy people are include resources for healthy food, having a place to sleep, having clothes to wear, access to clean water and more “I told my staff, ‘Look, we need to find a way to address those determinants of health - those things that are keeping people from being healthy,’” he said.

Belgard said it was around that time that Leary called, and it all fell into place. “I told my staff, ‘I think we found the solution to our problem.’” According to Leary, “We like to help the older people and people of all ages with clothes and food. We like to give love and support to the community. Over the past few years, the SAKS of Love program has grown. It started in the back of a car, to a living room, to a shed, to a barber shop, to an oversized storage unit and now to an entire medical clinic, thanks to Hope Community Medicine.”

The partnership with Hope Community Medicine has opened opportunities to reach the community and offer additional preventive health and mental wellness supplies, services and options.

Movie nights with food are conducted for kids.

SAKS of Love is open on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturdays of the month.

On the 2nd Saturday, the homeless are served. SAKS of Love serves Shelby, Angelina, Panola and Nacogdoches Counties.

After the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, the organization hosted a Back-to-School Giveaway from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. offering families backpacks, school supplies and back to school haircuts.