Omegas spread holiday cheer at Youth Shelter
On December 21, 2013 at approximately 11 a.m., the Gamma Iota Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. visited the Greenhouse Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter located in Sumter, SC to deliver some donated toiletries and other much needed winter supplies for the children currently residing at the shelter.
The Gamma Iota Chapter makes donations to various organizations throughout the community. However, this particular visit was different because the children of the chapter’s youth program visited the shelter under the direction of the Youth Mentorship Chairman, Bro. Roosevelt Nelson.
“I decided to take the children in the youth program to the shelter to hopefully get them to understand the true meaning of being thankful,” said Nelson. “Allowing them to meet the children at the shelter gave them more of an appreciation for things they often take for granted.”
Although the visit was meaningful and heartfelt for all who made the trip, many of the children and chapter members did not know that the Greenhouse shelter existed. The shelter is a crisis intervention program that provides temporary shelter and services to youth ages 10-17 that are considered runaways, homeless, abused, neglected, abandoned, and/or delinquent. Some of the services provided include but not limited to: individual counseling, medical and legal services, placement and aftercare, transportation and recreation, crisis counseling, and street outreach.
“We receive clients from all walks of life,” said Barbara Walker, shelter staff member. “We provide a number of services for the clients to include transportation to and from school each day. Many of our clients come here with very little and others with nothing. That is why donations like this one means so much to the shelter, but importantly, to our clients who reap the benefits.”
Although the shelter is a state funded organization, it receives a huge portion of its revenue and materials through donations, according to Walker. With the assistance of generous donations, the shelter was able to provide shelter and support services to 136 youth who residing in the shelter for a total of 1,325 days in 2012. As 2013 comes to a close, hopefully the number of children requiring the shelter’s assistance was reduced from the previous year. However, the shelter’s staff remain ready to extend a helping hand in the event that their services are needed.
As children throughout the Sumter community celebrate this holiday season by having Christmas dinner with their families and opening gifts from under the Christmas tree, children residing in the Greenhouse Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter will be grateful for having a roof over their heads, food to eat, and caring staff members who are their source of hope.
Written by:
Brother Shawn Woodard