By Olivia Abdalla
Holland Hall High School
Originally started by a Methodist church and established in 1983, Food and Shelter of Norman began as a way for congregation members to reach out to their community and assist those who needed their help.
The church’s way of helping the Norman community was through distributing meals in community parks. These meals were specifically created for individuals experiencing homelessness in Norman.
What was meant to be a kind gesture 38 years later has turned into an organization that has provided more than 180,000 meals to the community: Food and Shelter of Norman.
“McFarland, First Baptist, Life Church, and those are just the ones that I know that donate. There’s a bunch of others that donate that I don’t know,” John McNeal, full-time staff member at Food and Shelter.
“We also have a man and a wife that every Saturday they goto the farmers market and they buy vegetables. And bring up here and give us.”
McNeal feels a personal connection to those experiencing homelessness because he’s been in the same situation before.
The day center also provides breakfast seven days a week. Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and lunch from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
However, a hot meal isn’t all that the Food and Shelter of Norman offers.
The facility assists in housing designed to create stability in family homes and case management for those who need it. People looking to occupy temporary housing can apply to live in the cottages provided on the day center’s property.
Despite the harsh reality homeless individuals face, McNeal has a different take on his own experience. He has chosen to look at his experience with homelessness through a positive lens. “I thought it was great cause I wasn’t on the street as long as a lot of them. I was only on the streets for a couple of months then I got housed.”
At the start of the pandemic, McNeal was permanently added to the Food and Shelter staff to help set up and serve due to a shortage in staff because of COVID-19.
The relatively new job has given McNeal the opportunity to help his fellow community members. McNeal encourages community members to give back to those experiencing homelessness or to even give them a smile.
“You know everybody could use a smile because when they see a smile they kinda brighten up and perk up a little bit.
“A hello or a ‘how are you’ goes a long ways because they don’t get that very often,” McNeal said.
Brandi Studley and McNeal have more in common than living in the same town. They both have experienced life on the streets.
Studley, a council member for Ward l and an active member of the Norman community, has done her personal duty to help those in homelessness because she’s “been there before.”
Studley experienced homelessness as a mother.
“I used to be homeless with my daughter … before she was 2… I was a homeless drug addict. Thank God I had a car to stay in but I know what it’s like. I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to pull myself up by the bootstraps and fix my life,” she said.
Studley creates hygiene bags and prepares full meals for homeless people in Normans from her home.
“ We always have the staples of your toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner and lotion … if we have extra we’ll put in a roll of toilet paper with the bag, too,” Studley said.
Studley said community members also provide chapstick, hand sanitizer, sun screen and multiple forms of bug repellent.
Norman’s homeless crisis provides the community with a multitude of options to get involved.
Studley said she believes that it is a civic duty to pay it forward the best you can, whether monetarily or through volunteering.
“We have to be there to help each other no matter your color, class, your religion or your sex we all have to help one another,” Studley said. “Life is hard enough as it is so if we can all be a community and help each other in our darkest times then that’s what we have to do.”
