Fundraiser for homeless shelter

Recent winter weather has given the words “below zero” a much more immediate meaning.

Meanwhile, many across Lincoln County have little protection from the cold.

“Right now, we currently have someone that’s sleeping in a tent that, we just found out today, that is close to our building,” director of Helping Hands Community Foundation Sabra Denson said Saturday, “so we’re trying to find a place for him tonight.”

And this person is not alone in his plight.

“There’s people who will sleep at the lake,” Denson said. “There’s people who are, we have youth in Chandler, that are under 18, that are jumping from couch to couch or car to car just trying to get their school finished and get through high school.”

So, Helping Hands Community Foundation is launching a new initiative to address this situation: Lincoln County Homeless Shelter.

The organization is raising funds for the creation of this shelter, which they hope to open in Chandler by July.

“The need is there and we want to solve that problem,” Denson said.

To do so, they aim to raise $50,000 for the shelter’s building deposit as soon as possible.

“The owner’s going to work with us about putting a big down payment down to purchase the building,” Denson said. “And that’s where the 50,000 came from, for the fundraiser.”

After the initial down payment, individual and business sponsorships will help cover the initial costs of keeping the shelter up and running, she said. Sponsorship packages range for $20 to around $300 per month.

Once operational, this shelter will be the only homeless shelter in Lincoln County, and Denson’s experience as the director of Helping Hands Community Foundation has shown her how deeply it is needed.

“We see probably 30 families a week on a minimum,” Denson said, “and it is a frequent thing that comes up as far as housing, not having housing, or it’ll be an emergency where a family says, ‘the landlord has given me until, you know, a few days to get out, I don’t know what I’m going to do’.”

The new shelter intends to help families in these situations.

“We’re going to do men, women and families with children,” Denson said. “So, we’re thinking about 20 families, depending on what, how they come in, like individual men, individual women, and then the families mixed together.”

The facility will provide more than just short-term relief services.

“We’ll have, like, an emergency room for the people that are just needing an emergency overnight but then we’ll also have that long-term, where we’re helping them get back on their feet,” Denson said.

The long-term services will connect clients with additional aid and resources.

“We’re partnering with other services like counseling and medical and dental and substance abuse and those services will all be in house for the people that we’re serving to get back on their feet,” she said.

Access to dental services is being planned through a partnership between Helping Hands Community Foundation and Nicki Schafer, a dentist at Chandler Family Dentistry.

“I want to be able to help provide some care in emergency situations,” Schafer said, “but also some preventative care too, including just exams, x-rays and cleanings, and hopes that we can get their mouths healthy and get them out of pain.”

Schafer said she will be coming up with a limited number per month, or per year, of free dental services that they will be able to provide through the shelter’s upcoming programs.

Having access to these kinds of services that the shelter will offer, Denson said, helps homeless families find stability and helps reinstate homeless individuals back into society.

“It’s going to save tax dollars. It’s going to do a lot of things to be able to get them back on their feet, get them back in the workforce,” Denson said.

She said the shelter is about recognizing that homeless people are like everyone else.

“Creating a culture that accepts them and loves them and helps them be successful in the way that they want to be, I feel like that’s our calling, and that’s what we should be doing when other people are just going to throw them away,” Denson said. “I feel like the difference that we can make in their lives, that’s why we’re going to, that’s why we’re doing this.”

Individuals can learn more and donate to the shelter by visiting the Helping Hands Community Foundation fundraiser page on Facebook or by visiting their website: www.hhcommunityfoundation.net.

Donations by mail should be sent to Helping Hands at PO Box #44, Chandler, OK, and have the word “shelter” in the subject line.

Those needing assistance from Helping Hands Community Foundation, can reach Helping Hands through their website, Facebook page, or by calling (405) 215-2574.