Site’s Long Legacy Continues With New Hope

Hope Ministries opens in former church used by longtime mission

By Stacy Alderman
The Tube City Almanac
March 02, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Hope Ministries has begun operations in the Seventh Avenue space that housed The Intersection for decades. (Submitted photo)

For nearly a half-century, The Intersection in McKeesport provided meals and emergency assistance to residents who needed it most. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy and run by volunteers, the charity quietly closed its doors in recent months.

Another organization, Hope Ministries, has already stepped up to make sure people don’t have to go without.

According to board member Jerry Kuhn, Hope Ministries was started in 2022 under a different name. The group wwas just getting its footing when it were displaced due to a gas explosion in August of that same year that heavily damaged the former YWCA on Ninth Avenue.

The vacancy of the building on Seventh Avenue — the one-time home of the Free Hungarian Reformed Church — gave Hope Ministries the opportunity they’d been waiting for—their own kitchen with room to grow.

(Submitted photo)

Kuhn, who retired from his full-time job in January, spoke passionately about the meals provided, the organization’s rent and utility assistance program, as well as how they plan to expand.

Right now, they host a Tuesday lunch and a Thursday dinner as well as a Thursday bible study. There’s a food bank available on the second Thursday of every month and they aim to add additional meals and programs as time goes on.

When asked what people can do to support or get involved with Hope Ministries, Kuhn said, “We need friend-raising and fundraising. Financial support will help us continue to grow and help of any kind is welcome.”

In addition to the meals, which can be eat-in or take-out, Hope Ministries often distributes personal care items like toiletries and cleaning products.

“We had someone drop off hats, gloves, and scarves the other day. (The donation) came just in time for the winter weather we had on Feb. 16,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn is hopeful that they can get a website up and running soon, and they’re working to make the building ADA accessible.

He said he and the rest of the staff at Hope Ministries are welcoming anyone in need or anyone who wants to help. The group can be reached by phone at (412) 678-3773. Although office hours aren’t yet firm, Kuhn said someone is generally on-site Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Thursdays between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Father Terry O’Connor of Mary, Mother of God Parish, said his church often donated proceeds from its fish fries to benefit The Intersection, and said the charity leaves a proud legacy.

“The Intersection did amazing work in this area and their services will be missed, but we’re hopeful that the new tenants will continue the great work of reaching out to those in need,” O’Connor said.

Hope Ministries can be found at 115 Seventh Ave., McKeesport, PA 15132. Any correspondence or financial donations can be mailed to PO Box 83, McKeesport, PA 15134.

Stacy Alderman is a White Oak-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in Heather Christie's Love Notes, THEMA Literary, inScribe Journal, Minerva Rising, and several others. She is the recipient of the Children of Steel fiction award. This is her first article for Tube City Almanac.

(Submitted photo)

Originally published March 02, 2025.

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