Local partnership gives back to homeless

by Jacob Homan

Thursday, June 23rd 2022

COLUMBIA, SC (WACH)- Oliver Gospel mission church, and a local non-profit group teamed up Thursday afternoon to feed the homeless in Columbia.

"God has allowed us to continue to provide, and when we got people like Ronni and food trucks and different ministries like that it really helps us get the meals complete", said Geno Pickard, of Oliver Gospel

The outreach agency serves up to 250 meals a day to the homeless every day of the year. The mission teamed up with premier community care, a non-profit that feeds the homeless in Columbia.

Ronni Byrd Bryant, the founder of Premier Community Care, says helping out brings her joy.

"People are beautiful inside and out, I learned that its a happiness and joy of helping., you always want to help the community and give back"

The homeless population in Richland county is one of the largest in the state. More than Charleston, Greenville, and Horry county.

According to the latest data, Richland county has more than 800 homeless people. Pickard says the best part of it, is building relationships.

“You see the same faces a lot of times. The relationships that are built, they come to depend and trust us that we’ll be here every day when they're in a time of need. All the staff that work here, we come to know them well and they know us well.”

And Bryant believes a world without homelessness can be a reality.

“It's possible. I believe anything is possible, one step at a time.

Link: https://wach.com/news/local/local-partnership-gives-back-to-homeless