The Winter Item Drive of Alliance for a Better Omaha’s biannual Street Outreach Drive is underway through this Friday, February 16th.
Mike Hornacek, Executive Director of Together, says they are seeking donations for the Street Outreach Team of the Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, or MACCH. He says the team goes out five days and at least one night a week, with the goal of convincing people living on the street to move to one of the area shelters.
Hornacek says there have been changes in the profiles of people living on the streets in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area over the past several years. He says the overall number of homeless, however, has remained fairly stable.
“Veteran homelessness, youth homelessness and family homelessness are the three areas that need our largest focus right now, because we are seeing some of the largest increases in those areas. And, especially when it comes to youth and family homelessness, that’s pretty alarming, because the homeless system was never built to serve families and kids; it was built to serve single men and women..”
Hornacek says they especially need blankets, socks, water, disposable hand and foot warmers, wet wipes, and hygiene products.
Donations can be dropped off at five different Omaha Public Library locations as well as offices of Heartland Family Service or Together.
For more information, find Alliance for a Better Omaha on Facebook.