Wander just off campus and you’ll experience the ever rising homeless population in Norman. Fortunately there is an organization right here in Norman leading the charge to help these people get back on their feet and achieve their goals. That organization is Food and Shelter Inc. Website, a nonprofit founded in 1983 by a group from McFarlin United Methodist Church.
To see just how important this organization is to the community we spoke with a couple of the unhoused that use their services daily. The courtyard area is where to find many of them after breakfast. A group of individuals were more than willing to discuss matters affecting them.
Chris Jones and Noah Chavez sat at a picnic table where they had just finished breakfast inside and were enjoying a smoke together before heading out for the day. Chris has been coming to Food and Shelter for about a year now and wanted people to know that it has “helped him a lot”. Noah was a little more talkative, when asked how long he’s used their services, “Well, off and on for a couple months now, a friend of mine turned me onto it, said you get a good breakfast and good coffee conversation. And you do.” He went on to add, “I’m really not too nervous, but I enjoy the people. There are a lot of good people here. There are a lot of good people around here. And like I said, if you want help, the lady here named April, she’s willing to help you. Very, very informative woman. Very knowledgeable about stuff.”
Lastly was Joseph who told us he has been coming there for about a year and he imagines how much harder his life would be without Food and Shelter. He wanted the people of Norman to know, “not all homeless are as bad as people think.”
Noah chimed in as the interview was ending, “I feel like I got it decent, right now. You know, God smiles on me. Oh yeah. I’m a blessed man. All my kids are good. Stuff like that. My family’s doing good down in Texas, I need to go see them.” When asked if he’d like to add anything else, “keep your head up. Keep your head up. That’s what I try to do every day. Keep your head up, man. Even tough work can always be working. Always be blessed. Because it could be stuff out there happening. Look at all the shootings. Crazy going on, you know? So you gotta be blessed. You have to be thankful, more people have to be thankful.”
Next up for the city of Norman is to procure a space for a winter shelter to be run by Food and Shelter. City council contact information can be found here. Norman City Council
