About

Eric and Christen Freund are co-founders of Hope on the Hard Road Inc. College sweethearts, they have been married for 24 years and live in San Diego with their adult daughter. Their son is currently enjoying the adventure of living away at college.

Their family’s journey with special needs began when their daughter was diagnosed with Autism a week before her fourth birthday. However, God had been preparing them for this journey long before. As a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant and years earlier as a swim instructor, Christen had worked with children and adults with disabilities at various times throughout her career. Eric as well, as a high school teacher and coach, had always enjoyed finding creative ways to help his students with IEPs be successful. Looking back, they are both amazed at the way in which God wove together their training and passions to help others, so that one day they would be able to help their own daughter and other families as well.

After their daughter’s diagnosis, they spent many years trying to balance family life with doctor appointments, therapies, IEPs, etc., and found themselves feeling overwhelmed, isolated and discouraged. Over time, with the love and support of friends and family and God’s direction, they began to thrive in the midst of their circumstances. Soon they realized that other families in the special-needs community were experiencing similar circumstances and had similar needs that were not being met. This sparked a desire to find a way to help other families.

When they saw a need to increase the support at their church for families with children with special needs, they helped to form a ministry team, bringing together a group of parents, special-ed educators, and church staff. The special-needs ministry that was created from that collaboration has continued to grow in the years since, implementing a variety of supports for children, their families, and the church staff and volunteers, and giving input into the designing of special-needs’ classrooms, sensory rooms, and family live-feed rooms.

Eric and Christen are passionate about helping other families in the special-needs community find hope, encouragement and support, and in 2019, they felt God calling them to start the nonprofit ministry Hope on the Hard Road, Inc.

For a family raising a child with special needs, life can be difficult. There are many storms to weather and struggles to address, and we often feel isolated and alone due to the nature of our circumstances. Families have a need to connect and find resources, a need to be encouraged, and a need for hope as we walk down what can be a very hard road at times. Hope on the Hard Road nonprofit ministry was created for this purpose. We are dedicated to encouraging and connecting families through events and resources designed to help support the unique needs of the individual, the family, and the community. Our vision is to grow a thriving community, where families with children of all ages with special needs can feel connected, be encouraged, and find hope for the road ahead.