During the recent bitter cold spell, the Open Door Mission was operating above capacity and went through a number of winter warm-up items. Candace Gregory, President and CEO of the Open Door Mission, says at their emergency shelter for women and children, The Lydia House, the 300 beds were not enough; women and children slept on mats on the floor in their community rooms every night.
Gregory says in addition to providing short-term shelter and serving an average of 2300 meals a day, they offer several “life-improvement tracks" programs – which she says about 50% of the people they serve get involved with. These include job training, GED classes and a unique recovery program.
“We are the only place in Omaha-Council Bluffs, where a family could seek recovery without putting their children in foster care or leaving their children with family, so it’s a holistic reunification program. It could be any life-altering addiction, but we do see the number one drug choice in our community continuing to be alcohol. It’s legal, it’s cheap, and you can self-medicate yourself with that.”
Gregory says blankets, hats and gloves will be needed throughout the winter and that the least-often donated item happens to be the one they use the most of – toilet paper. Volunteering is another way to help. That includes at the Max I. Walker Ultra Chic Boutique on Saturday the 28th. It’s the largest fund-raiser of the year for The Lydia House.
For more information, the website is Opendoormission.org; on the website there’s a button that says “ways you can help.”