Feeding Hope, an organization that provides meals to the community, has opened a cooling center for residents who need relief from the heat at 424 E. Florida St.
Feeding Hope director Keri Juarez said that last summer, they were able to open five days per week and this year, they have incorporated with another entity.
“Light of Hope was running out of Grace Baptist Church and so we incorporated it to where we could all have it under one roof this year,” Juarez said.
“They were doing Saturdays, so this year, we just put it all under one roof, so everybody knew exactly where to come because there was some confusion. We just went ahead and partnered with them. We’re open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then we’re open on Sundays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.”
According to Juarez, on the first day the cooling center was open, approximately 15 people came in and one day last week, there were about 35.
“They come in to either do laundry, take a shower, have a meal,” Juarez said. “We serve a lunch every day and they come to cool off and just utilize our services that we have. We also partner with some different resources available like Lighthouse and we have some SNAP and Sooner-Care applicant facilities that come in and set up to make sure that they can enquire if they need those services.”
Juarez said that not everyone who has visited is homeless.
“They actually are people that don’t have air conditioning or they don’t have running water right now or maybe they don’t have groceries because the children are out of school and stuff and so they stop by here to at least either get a meal or they don’t have a washer and dryer so it helps them or they don’t have the funding to go to a laundromat. Then, they’re able to come and do their laundry here.”
Juarez said Feeding Hope is committed to finding out what the community needs and helping people by providing “wraparound” services.
Visitors can receive assistance in applying for Medicare or Medicaid and obtaining driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
“Sometimes, that is why they can’t get a job and not anyone can just get a birth certificate if they don’t have an ID or some type of verifi cation,” Juarez said. “So, they’ll come in here and one of our wraparound services will have a connection to the state where they don’t have to provide those things. They can check qualifications other ways and so then they can be able to provide that so then we connect them with those different resources.”
Juarez recalled when Feeding Hope only provided meals at a park, and its vision now is expanding its services to meet everyone’s needs.
“Really, getting to those resources and so it’s easier, we believe, if we provide one location to be able to offer wraparound services,” Juarez said. “So, every month, every year, we’re trying to build more and more, so people can just come here and then those services are here or we have a connection or a resource where we can call them to meet them here, and so it’s more under one roof.”
Feeding Hope provides meals on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and meals are served between 5 and 6 p.m.
“With the cooling center, it kind of runs into our feeding times, so on those days, we’re still open providing a meal that night, but the cooling center itself is open from 10 to 5 and so they can get at least a lunch on all of those days and then the days that we’re open for nighttime services, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, they can get a lunch and a dinner,” Juarez said.
Tentative plans are for the cooling center to be open through Aug 31 unless the temperatures rise, and it says hot longer like it did last year.
“We will try to raise the remaining $2,000 to stay open as long as we are needed,” Juarez said. “Last year, we went through the middle of September.”
She said Feeding Hope is asking on social media for help with matching funds and that an anonymous donor contributed $2,000.
Juarez credited volunteers for making Feeding Hope what it is.
“It definitely takes the whole community coming together,” Juarez said. “We have two paid staff volunteers that we raise funds for and just to support this, the cooling center but then we have volunteers that come in from the churches or other organizations that we’ve worked with because it takes a lot to make it happen when you have 40 people just in here all day long. We’re trying to make sure that the laundry is run. The dinner is made. The bathrooms are clean. The seats and tables are wiped down just to make sure everything’s flowing properly. It’s been such a blessing to have the ladies step in that do every winter and summer.”
Feeding Hope also plans to host a back-to-school end of summer welcome party and is still working on a date for that event. The Glow Run will be Sept. 25.
“It is our fifth annual Glow Run, so we’re really trying to get that out there,” Juarez said. “Our goal is to have 500 people come out and support us because these events that we have, that is what really makes all of these things come together and keeps our doors open and so besides the monthly donations that we do receive, it’s really those events that really help getting these doors open.”
Children are among the many visitors, according to Juarez.
“They always look forward to coming in and playing the games and we have some elderly that it’s hard for them to really cook or maybe they don’t have the means to get the food or things like that,” Juarez said. “We have elderly coming in. We have individuals coming in. We have homeless coming in. We have children who actually come in by themselves and they’ll come get their meal and come play games and stay cool, and so it’s just really such a blessing to have this place. I just pray that it continues to grow and benefits our community.”