FINDLAY, Ohio — As many people in the region prepare for a Thanksgiving feast, there are still many struggling to put food on the table, or a roof over their head.
The City Mission in Findlay, which is the only homeless shelter in Hancock County, houses up to 110 people each night and also feeds residents three times a day.
Food Services manager Miriam Ibarra said a recent large donation restocked their nearly empty shelves, allowing the shelter to continue making their meals.
"We understand with inflation going on that sometimes other people can't give to charities," Ibarra said. "But, they went ahead and stuck through their annual thing and now our shelves are full again."
But a true sign of the times is their new Community Window, a take-out program for those who simply need a meal.
When it launched earlier this year they were serving 15 - 20 people a day.
"Now we're serving for lunch and for dinner separate about 100 people, 100 meals going out there daily," Ibarra said. "And those aren't for the people living here. Those are the people who are living in Hancock County, but still can't provide groceries."
The City Mission also has begun using a meeting room as a warming lodge. That allows the shelter to bring in 30 additional people each night to get a warm meal and a place to sleep.
"If somebody comes in who has no place to go, we don't want them sleeping outside where it's really, really cold and we don't want them to freeze," said Deb Chambers, operations and facilities manager at City Mission. "So they can come in here and we offer them a place to stay."
To help out the City Mission this holiday season, you can donate seven days a week at their drop off location behind the building. And you can sign up anytime to be a volunteer on their website.
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