A nonprofit organization with the motto “Reaching Hurting People, Restoring Families, Realizing Dreams” quietly got underway in Great Bend last August. Now the Central Kansas Dream Center, located at 2100 Broadway Ave., will host some guests from Phoenix, Ariz., to train local program leaders and help others better understand the vision for central Kansas.
Pastor Jesse Alas from the Phoenix Dream Center and a couple of his disciples are expected to arrive in Great Bend today. The public can hear Alas at a meeting in the sanctuary at 2100 Broadway at 7 p.m. Saturday that will include praise and worship time and testimonies, as well as information about the Dream Center in Phoenix. They will also do a church service at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at First Assembly of God Church, 601 South Patton Road.
 Kimberly Becker, director of Central Kansas Dream Center, said the local nonprofit organization is not affiliated with any church, and runs several community programs, including a six-month discipleship program like the one the Rev. Alas coordinates through the Church on the Street (COTS) in Phoenix.
“We actually went to Phoenix to learn,” Becker said. During his stay in Great Bend the Rev. Alas will demonstrate another aspect of COTS by leading a “crosswalk ministry” Sunday afternoon. The public is also invited to participate by meeting at the Dream Center at 3 p.m. and heading out from there.
Becker said they will probably head south on Main Street and may meet some of Great Bend’s homeless people, who often camp near the Arkansas River bridge. Unfortunately, she said, the population of homeless people is growing.
For more information call the Dream Center, 620-282-4014.

About Central Kansas Dream Center
Central Kansas Dream Center currently houses the Daniel R. Trickey Memorial Life Giving Center for women and women with children who are in a state of homelessness. Becker said occupancy is capped at 16, but they are raising money to add a sprinkler system, which would allow more people to live in the building, the former Roosevelt Junior High School.
Crosspoint Church, which had also used the old school building, is moving out to allow for more programs. This Sunday morning Cross Point will have its last service in the sanctuary. It is moving to 57 SE 20 Road.
Also in the building is the Hungry Heart Soup Kitchen, which serves a free hot meal Monday through Friday from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They also offer assistance to individuals who have received a disconnect notice on their utilities or an eviction notice on their home.
The newest program in the building is a six-month discipleship where men and women learn to overcome the life-controlling issues that include but are not limited to substance abuse, anger, depression and the emotional residue left by mental, physical and sexual abuse. The participants are taught to confront their issues by learning positive coping techniques and to mend relationships with the goal of reuniting with their families.
Next year, Becker said, they plan to add the Dream Center Youth Living program, which will help young adults 18-21 years old who are aging out of the foster care system make a successful transition.
The Dream Center is supported by Lasting Life Ministries, local churches, private donations and local grants. As its leaders grow in meeting the needs of our community and breaking the cycles of drugs, abuse and neglect, they  believe that the financial needs will also be met. The programs are in need of donations, ranging from cleaning supplies to personal hygiene items to monetary donations.
Other programs the Dream Center plans to implement as finances become available are a high-risk pregnancy program, a program reaching out to those caught in human trafficking, and an after-school summer program for high-risk children.