Patricia and her husband worked for 27 years in door-to-door sales by traveling around the country making a living. But due to some health issues Patricia was facing, they came off the road and settled in Oklahoma City. Arriving with nothing but what they had with them, Patricia and her husband stayed in a local shelter to begin again.
After two weeks, Patricia’s husband had a job and three months later, they were in an apartment of their own. Patricia found doctors who helped control her health issues and their lives seemed to be rolling along smoothly until six months later when a storm flooded their apartment. It was condemned and though they quickly found a new place, an increase in their monthly rent became a heavy burden.
Then Patricia’s husband’s hours were cut back. Finally, Patricia stepped out of her comfort zone and asked for help.
“The fear of a lot of people who are in my situation is judgment. When you have to ask for help with certain things you feel less than,” Patricia shared. “But here at The Salvation Army, when I come here to the pantry, they don’t make me feel less than. They just make me feel that they’re here to help me and anything I need; they’re going to do their best to help and I appreciate that. It makes a big, big difference in a person’s life.”
It was hard for Patricia to ask for help that first time but since then, she’s never looked back.
“Without The Salvation Army’s food pantry, we’d be short on food every month. The money runs out once you pay the rent and utilities. Whatever’s left is for food and that’s very little.”
Because of your generous support of The Salvation Army, families like Patricia’s are provided with groceries that feed them for a month. We could not help Patricia without your support and on her behalf, we say thank you.
If you’d like to continue supporting our Client Choice Food Pantry:
- Sign up to volunteer by contact Liz Banks, volunteer coordinator, at 405-246-1107 or banks@uss.salvationarmy.org.
- Host a food drive for the pantry! Contact Liz Banks for more information.
- Donate now by giving online. Click here to give.
Ryan Frace was first introduced to The Salvation Army because his son was invited to help serve dinner in the Red Shield Diner with his cousins. After that night, Ryan’s son couldn’t stop talking about the experience and they looked forward to the next opportunity to serve.
Oklahoma City, OK – The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma is pleased to announce it has received an $11,600 grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation and its Wellness Initiative grant program. The grant will be used to assist in funding senior men’s activity programs, which will allow The Salvation Army to increase its level of service to men at their five senior centers.
Najahahn, known to everyone as “NJ”, is no stranger to The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club. He began attending the Club at five years old and found a place where he could have fun.
Marlon is no stranger to starting over in a new place. Originally from Louisiana, Marlon left for Las Vegas after Hurricane Katrina and eventually settled in Salina, KS. After a relationship turned into a bad situation, he decided it was time to move on – leaving his job, friends and coworkers to start again.
