In the News ... "Willis brings 'Hope for the Hood' to south Odessa"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• “I was a well-known criminal in this town”

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Recently named pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, the Rev. Darren Willis wants to make a difference in the crime-plagued areas of south Odessa.

Pursuing a program he calls “Hope for the Hood,” the 55-year-old native Odessan said he will go onto Snyder and Monahans streets “to reach the people where they are actually at in their mindsets.

“It’s heavily populated with certain gangs, and you have to respect them in their neighborhoods,” Willis said ...

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