A dozen or so people milled around outside the O’Reilly Center for Hope as a Community Partnership of the Ozarks bus sat idling, waiting to take a round of guests to the DMV. Emily Fessler is Continuum of Care Coordinator for Affordable Housing & Homeless Prevention for CPO. She said about 11 people were ready to go when I arrived. It was the monthly Day of Hope at the Center and the day’s focus was on helping people get IDs and Birth Certificates.
Fessler said the Center’s monthly Day of Hope events each have a focus and bring in access to basic health services, they are also a microcosm of the work CPO and their partners do every day, addressing the challenges of seeking out help by bringing as many resources as possible under one roof.
“People come in, they say what they’re needing, but eventually as you continue to have more conversations, you’ll find out that there are other things that they need to get connected to,” Fessler explained. Having so many resources in one place at the O’Reilly Center means whoever is helping someone can easily refer them to another service provider, the Day of Hope leverages that process.
In a room to one side of the Center tables were arranged along the wall with various partners like the Greene County Health Department, APO and the League of Women Voters. In one corner assistants made sure attendees had their paperwork in order before giving them the go ahead to get on the bus for the DMV. In an opposite wing people accessed resources the Center provides any time they’re open, like laundry, mail and showers.
Linda was one attendee of the event; to protect her privacy we’ll not give her full name. She was ready to get an ID.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” Linda said about first becoming homeless. “I thought, God, I’ve got to have help. ... I did not know how to survive on the street,” and like many people experiencing homelessness Linda has faced the challenge of having her property lost and stolen. She said in January 2023 she lost everything.
“Everything,” she emphasized, “my EBT card that I had. My bank card. It all got stolen. And it's been well over a year. It’s going in to twenty months since I’ve had even my social security check.”
Linda was hoping her new ID would help her get her social security in order. It is just one example of the challenges and barriers Fessler said someone without an ID faces. And Linda’s story of just not knowing where to go in the first place is a common one too, something the Center hopes to address with its model. Another challenge Fessler sees is building trust with the community they serve
“These are individuals who have been essentially let down by every single possible system in our society,” Fessler said, “so these are individuals who have a very difficult time opening up. A very difficult time trusting anybody.”
She said the Center relies on the Burrel street team, which has an office in the building, to help make those connections and they rely on everyone involved being honest about what services they can provide and what they can do for any one person.
That relationship building is part of what brought Linda in for the day.
“I’m just thankful that they’re here,” she said. “I know these people. I know a lot of them. They've known me. I, honestly, I’ll just tell you quickly. I wanted to give up.”
But she said, she draws strength from her faith, and the Day of Hope lived up to its name in the optimism she expresses telling me some of what she’s been through and still hopes to accomplish.
The Center for Hope can help anyone during their regular hours, they host their Days of Hope events generally on the fourth Wednesday of every month from 9 to noon. You do not have to be currently homeless. I’m also told they do rely on volunteers for many things. You can find more information online at cpozarks.org.