We all know relationships take work, and some more than others.
There is an agency in Brownsville dedicated to building strong marriages for healthy families. "We do believe in healthy relationships", says Karen Anzack, the Associate Director of H.A.R.P. The agency stands for Hispanic Active Relationship Project.
"We have served over 5,000 families in the 4 1/2 years we've been serving Cameron County", said Anzack.
H.A.R.P. relies on federal funding for existence and caters to everyone from young singles, to engaged couples and those who are married.
The agency holds workshops and teaches couples how to work together to build healthy relationships.
"A lot of the misunderstandings within a couple are solvable. Nobody teaches us to be married nobody told us how to handle conflict we just learned by what we saw", said Anzack.
Anzack tells Action 4 News living in a society with a high divorce rate; the agency's goal is keeping couples together.
"I would like to challenge each married person to think when was the last time they took more than two seconds to look into their partner's eyes. When was the last time they just turned off their cell phones, computers and just dedicated time to each other", said Anzack.
This past weekend H.A.R.P. hosted a retreat on South Padre Island with over 80 couples rekindling connections.
"It was amazing a lot of marriages were restored and a lot of people recommitted to each other", said Anzack.
Despite the mission, H.A.R.P. is in jeopardy of losing funding and may not be able to continue.
"We're struggling we're fighting to exist", said Anzack.
"Because funding for the healthy marriage initiative from the federal government is gone", Anzack adds.
The agency's federal funding is up in August and now staff members are scrambling to keep the organization alive.
"We're doing everything that we can so we can continue", said Anzack.
While H.A.R.P. continues to look for funding, the agency will continue holding workshops for those who would like to participate.
If you're interested you can call (956) 544-7165
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