Bread – Making it through winter

With the first hints of wintery weather making themselves felt this week, several local nonprofits are preparing to help Enid’s low-income residents and homeless make it through the winter months.

For the homeless, winter brings obvious challenges, as the elements make living outdoors not only uncomfortable, but potentially dangerous. And, for many low-income families struggling to get by, added heating bills in the winter can surpass available resources.

Hope Outreach offers a variety of services for the homeless and for those who just need help keeping the lights on.

The faith-based nonprofit runs a homeless day center at 815 W. Maine, offering a place to get out of the weather during the day, do a load of laundry or take a shower.

“Just having a place to be out of the weather during the day can be huge for some people,” said Leland Streck, community care and homeless ministry director for Hope Outreach. “It might not sound like much, but when it’s really cold or raining, a dry, warm place can go a long way.”

Streck said the day center serves about 45 people per day, with demand increasing during inclement weather.

“When it gets cold outside, they’re waiting outside the door when we get here in the morning,” Streck said.

The day center also offers the homeless a place to make and receive phone calls and receive mail while they are looking for a job.

Hope Outreach Executive Director Matt Lohman said those services can help the homeless not only survive the elements but also start on the path to being self-sufficient.

“If you don’t have access to a place to get clean, or a place where you can be contacted, it’s hard to get a job,” Lohman said.

In addition to the homeless, the center also sees a number of people who have homes, but who cannot afford utilities for heating or air conditioning.

“We see a wide variety of people coming in here,” Lohman said. “Some people can afford a home, but may not be able to afford the utilities or the other things that come with having a home. And that can be a step towards homelessness for some people, so just offering them help with their utilities can be a huge help.”

Lohman said Hope Out-reach’s community care program helps those having trouble with basic needs by “giving them an opportunity to help themselves.”

The program enables those in need to work in the Hope Outreach thrift store. In return, they receive vouchers for clothing or help with utility costs.

“For a lot of people it’s just an issue of having more month than check,” Streck said. “They may be employed, but their check may run out before their bills are paid, and they just need a little extra help getting by.”

Streck said the day center and community care programs give those in need the tools needed to improve their condition.

“We want to be a stepping stone to help them be able to make it to that next level, whether the next level is getting a job or just keeping their utilities on,” Streck said.

Hope Outreach’s homeless ministry is entirely supported by donations from local churches and patrons, and by purchases of donated goods at the thrift store.

Streck said the day center is in need of donations of coffee, bread, personal hygiene and toiletry items and cold-weather clothing, including coats, hats, gloves and scarves.

Lohman said Hope Outreach is looking into ways to expand its homeless ministry to offer more services.

“We don’t know exactly what that will look like, but we want to be able to provide more services to the homeless community,” Lohman said. “There’s a lot of steps you have to take between being homeless and being completely autonomous, and we want to help them step by step to reach that level.”

He said Hope Outreach is assessing how to best address the homeless community’s needs without duplicating any other agency’s efforts.

Several blocks away from Hope Outreach’s homeless day center, hundreds of people congregate each day for a hot meal at Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen ministry of Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

Our Daily Bread director Sandy Howard said the kitchen feeds 200 to 300 clients daily, representing a wide variety of people with one thing in common: they’re in need of a free, hot meal.

“Everybody is welcome here, I don’t care if you’re rich or poor or whatever,” Howard said. She said the vast majority of the people who come through the line each day are either homeless, or are low-income people who “need help making ends meet.”

Howard said the kitchen’s daily attendance is much more dependent on time of month than weather or other factors.

“A lot of our people are working, but their check may have run out by the end of the month, and by the end of the month our count is way up,” she said.

Our Daily Bread, located at 616 W. Randolph, opens its doors to all in need 7 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

Coffee and doughnuts are served each morning, followed by lunch from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Howard said Our Daily Bread is well supported by donations from local churches and individual donors.

“This is God’s house,” Howard said, “and he takes good care of it.”

For information on homeless outreach services available through Hope Outreach call (580) 237-4800.

For information on homeless shelter services in Enid, contact the Salvation Army, 516 N. Independence, at (580) 237-1910.

Additional information on services to help low-income households cover utility costs is available through Community Development Support Association at (580) 242-6131.

This site is hosted by (click on the graphic for more information)

Return from bread to Home Page

Bread Making with Bill & Sheila