OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — This week will be a bit cooler than what we’ve experienced in the metro the last few weeks, but there are still plenty of hot, humid days ahead.
Some people don’t have the resources to stay cool, and the Open Door Mission needs the community’s help.
The Open Door Mission has helped the area combat homelessness for decades. Since the pandemic started donations and volunteering numbers have been down.
That includes for items to help keep the folks they serve cool during the summer months.
With prices rising all around us, those battling poverty are forced to make tough decisions based off things we take for granted when temperatures rise.
“You know, just those basic things we take for granted are huge. We can never have too much water. For our guys out here, we go through quite a bit of water every week,” Open Door Mission Chief Impact Officer Steve Frazee said. “We probably go through two pallets—that’s 4x4x4 filled with water for guys to come in and out as they go through the men’s center.”
You can start a ‘Beat the Heat Drive’ with your place of work, organization, church, etc.
The Open Door Mission can help you promote the drive, and can also send someone to speak to your organization about the importance.
Items needed are bottles of water, sunscreen, lip balm and box fans.
Once items have been collected you can drop them off at any of the area’s three outreach centers.
“If you just want to focus in on water, you can focus in on water. If you just want to focus in on box fans, focus in on box fans. If you want the whole gamut, you can do the whole gamut, and bring it down here,” Frazee said. “You can take it to here, or out to Elkhorn, or Council Bluffs—whatever is the most convenient for you to do.”
The Timberlake Outreach Center in Omaha is still closed to consumers as remodeling continues, but as of Tuesday, donation drop-offs are accepted there.
Consumers are being directed to the outreach centers in Council Bluffs and Elkhorn until it's ready to open back up to consumers by the end of the month.
