On August 16, 2024 we heard from Lisa Janssen with an update on The Gathering Place.
Lisa and her team have a passion for ensuring that nobody in Lincoln goes hungry.
The Gathering Place is located a few blocks south of the Capital building. It is in an area with a high density of population. Many low-income live in the area because there is available affordable housing.
They have been open since 1982. They offer evening meals 7 days a week. There are no sign in sheets, no eligibility requirements and they don't ask questions. If you are hungry you can come in and have some food. They serve as many as 240 in any one evening. In addition to those meals, Lisa mentioned that the donated items in the Little Free Pantries are a great help to those in need as well.
They have seen an increase in meals service of 44% since 2021. Last fiscal year they served 43, 790 meals. In May of this year - even with a day off for holiday - 5600 meals were served.
Lisa stated her appreciation for the community volunteers that come in to serve the guests. They greet the guests and serve the food in eco-friendly to go boxes. But the guest has the option of taking the meal to go or they can choose to stay in out of the elements and spend time connecting with their peers.
She stated that the volunteers love what they do - and there are very few openings. A couple of people do most of the cooking - making meals from scratch and with love. 99% of the meals have fresh fruit or vegetables.
Some of the clients volunteered to complete a survey. They read about many success stories - that The Gathering Place was helping meet their needs. It was obvious that the guests feel that the volunteers and staff care about the people they serve. They also got some suggestions. They keep the guests and community in mind with every decision.
One former client stated that The Gathering Place was a place of peace, joy and love. Others commented about have a place where they feel safe and a reliable place of support. Some guests have become volunteers.
Lisa shared the story about one guest - when asked if he would share he said he was not yet done with his story. The first time he came to The Gathering Place he asked if they might have a - he did not have one and winter was coming.
A few months later he came in an stated that he was losing his apartment. They were able to get him help to get into People's City Mission. A while later he came back and reported that he was happy to be learning new skills - he was proud that he was now understanding the "street slang". A little later he talked about getting a work permit - as an immigrant he had no legal right to work until getting a permit. A few weeks later he reported that he got a job and a few months later he came in celebrating that he had an apartment.
Last month he came in - visibly shaking. .On his phone he had photos of documents to purchase a home. He now gets to bring is wife to Lincoln to live with him. He said he is not done and is thinking about the future - talking about investments.
"It all started when you gave me that coat - I will never get rid of that coat", he said.
Lisa stated - these are the stories that inspire us to provide these services to our community.
BIO
Lisa Janssen is the Gathering Place Program Administrator with Community Action. Lisa was born and raised in Nebraska and has worked in the non-profit and human services sector since graduating from UNL. Lisa believes when people have their basic needs met, great things can happen. She is a graduate of Leadership Lincoln Fellows 38 and is a current member of Lincoln Rotary 14. She has a deep appreciation for the community in Lincoln, which makes it easy for her to leave work with a smile every day.