- Ooh De Lally restaurant is opening a home for seven of its employees
- The restaurant is raising funds to furnish the home and needs $8,000 more, as of Friday afternoon
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – Safe and affordable housing can be tough to find for people who have been incarcerated. Now, a popular Dundee restaurant is stepping up to help by opening a home for seven of its employees.
Ooh De Lally employs people who have been incarcerated, helping them get back on their feet with a place to work, and soon, a place to live. Executive Director Tim Steinbach gave me a tour of the new rented home near 49th and Underwood.
"Most of the places in town just automatically won't rent to you. They won't talk to you, they won't try and figure out what your situation is," Steinbach said.
The first residents will move in next month. They will receive three months of free rent, then pay $600 a month.
Ooh De Lally employees Carl Epley, the participant house residential manager, and LaRue Marcos, director of community voice and partnerships, know what the incoming residents are going through. Marcos will be there to check in "and kind of being there for the guys when they need us," he said.
When asked if a house like this would have made things easier for him when he was starting off, Epley agreed.
"Oh, absolutely. I mean, I was lucky enough to be in the program. And if this was available to me at the time, you know, just be able to have the free rent," Epley said.
From the kitchen to the bedrooms, the house is empty now. Steinbach said they are trying to raise $20,000 to furnish the rented home and are still about $8,000 short of that goal.
You can donate on their website, shop on their Amazon wishlist, or buy tickets for their raffle.
"I wanna personally extend my gratitude to the community here in Dundee. I truly feel welcomed here," Marcos said.
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