Annually, the Oklahoma Chapter of Women In Lodging - OKWIL, partners with a local charitable organization to hold a community outreach day - providing a great opportunity for members to give back to our community!
This year's community outreach opportunity supports The Homeless Alliance. The Homeless Alliance works to end long-term homelessness in Oklahoma City by building the capacity of the community through collaboration with other agencies, identifying and filling gaps in homeless services, bringing nationally-recognized best practices to the community, and working to build a system that is more efficient, rationale, and caring. Click here to learn more about The Homeless Alliance.
The number of homeless is staggering and that is why OKWIL has selected The Homeless Alliance as a community outreach partner for a day of volunteering:
Date: October 2, 2019
Schedule:
9:30am - Check-in and activity sign-up
10:00am-12:00pm - Facility Tour & Volunteer Projects
Upon arrival members will be able to choose from the following volunteer activities:
•Organizational Projects: Organization of the Day Shelter library, emergency clothing, hygiene, or move-in closets. (available for up to 10 volunteers)
•Indoor Campus Clean-Up Projects: Indoor clean-up involves wiping down tables and other surfaces, cleaning windows and ledges, sweeping floors, etc. (available for up to 20 volunteers)
•Outdoor Campus Clean-Up Projects: Outdoor campus clean-up involves picking up litter and sweeping sidewalks or weeding and trimming plant overgrowth. (available for any size group)
If you would like to join us for this worthy cause you can register online here or reach out to Theresa at theresa@okrestaurants.com or 405-942-6462.
Additional Opportunities:
We hope you’ll join us, but if you wish to give in another way, we are also organizing non-perishable contributions. Please reference the attached list of items most needed.
There are two places to deliver your contributions:
•The Homeless Alliance: 1724 NW 4th St. OKC, OK 73106 Phone: 405-415-8410
•OH&LA: 3800 N. Portland Ave. OKC, OK 73120 Phone: 405-942-6462
Donations must be delivered boxed and labeled "Homeless Alliance" no later than Sept. 27th.
Attend this event and receive a code to register for our next event on November 19th for a special discount!
Important Stats on Oklahoma’s Homelessness:
In Oklahoma City in 2018, people who were experiencing homelessness reported:
· 10% of the population are veterans; veteran homelessness is down 18% from last year
· 21% are members of families with children; family homelessness is down 31%
· 31% are female, 69% are male
· 62% are white, 26% are black, and 7% are Native American
· 31% of the population reports mental illness
· 14% are youth age 24 or younger; 53 unaccompanied youth were counted that night
In 2018, there were a total of 1,183 “countable” people who were experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. It’s estimated that a community’s annual number of homeless is four to five times it’s one-night census – in this case, 4,732 to 5,915 people who experience homelessness in Oklahoma City every year.
