- Video shows Heartland Hope Mission in West Omaha.
- The blizzard left thousands without power, causing food loss and hardship, but community support is helping neighbors restock essential items through the Heartland Hope Mission.
- The Heartland Hope Mission, with the help of volunteers and case workers, provides ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods, non-perishables, and clothes to families in need.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The blizzard on Wednesday left thousands without power. Many neighbors are still dealing with the effects, and in some cases, losing food due to the outages. But thanks to help from our community, they are able to restock on the important necessities. At the Heartland Hope Mission, neighbors are getting everything they need with the help of volunteers and case workers.
"This is really helping some of the working poor who are maybe one bill away from being homeless,” said DeGroot.
Brent DeGroot has been volunteering at the Heartland Hope Mission for 10 years. He says that after a natural disaster, supporting neighbors is important.
"It's really a blessing for us to be able to be here, to serve, help, and do those things as well,” said DeGroot.
The Heartland Hope Mission is able to provide neighbors with ready-to-eat meals, frozen foods, non-perishables, and clothes.
"A lot of these families have a very tight budget. They budget how much they have for groceries every week, and if they come and they've already bought their groceries for the week, they don't have those extra funds to buy groceries." Said Chelsea Salifou, the Heartland Hope Mission CEO.
According to OPPD, there are still over 2,000 people in Douglas County. If neighbors are looking for a way to help, you can drop off food donations at the West Omaha and South Omaha Heartland Hope Mission locations. You can also visit the website to sign up to volunteer.
"Yeah, it's great to really see the folks that are recipients saying they love to see someone who's actually helping they thank you for volunteering,” said DeGroot
Heartland Hope Mission will have another pantry on Tuesday from 6:30 to 7:30 at its West Omaha location.
