Rock Bridge Christian Church’s Rebecca Shaw describes how their congregation became involved with Operation Safe Winter in Columbia.
Operation Safe Winter CoMo is a local group started by concerned citizens and run with a small group of individuals who work directly with the unhoused population in Columbia. They saw a need in our community and have been working to fill a gap. This group began taking donations about a year ago, as well as running a mobile soup kitchen out to some of the camps in outer areas of town. They work mainly with other local advocate groups and individuals to collect donations and setup 'free stores' in differing areas in town once a month, laying out donations of food, clothing, camping gear, etc for the taking. Their volunteers get word to those in the unhoused community of these events, lay out items and cook a meal to serve during the event. It is truly an operation run by individuals working for the greater good.
I learned of this group through advocacy work done locally and brought the idea to collect goods to RBCC's Social Justice team. Our church members responded quickly and in true RBCC fashion, went above and beyond in their generosity, filling boxes with items as fast as we could put them out! Soon we had overflowing sleeping bags, blankets, warm clothing and care items to get to OSW for their next event.
My five year old daughter became involved with Scouts this year and her leader and I were discussing service projects that children of a young age can be involved in. There aren't as many opportunities as one would hope for young children, so I invited Scout Troop 700 Lion Den to work with our SJ team and assist in collecting items to make personal care packages that could be passed out. The kids had a wonderful time packaging items and helping sort and worked hard! What a great opportunity to involve them in our community and give them the chance to really help others in need!
Our church will continue to serve as a drop off point for this organization and they will continue to collect items throughout the year. As many cities are seeing a rise in homeless populations, the needs continue. Columbia City Council and advocacy groups are currently in discussions in hopes to find a permanent year-round facility to help with this cause. Until then, OSW, local advocates and congregations are stepping up to assist in these needs.