Adopting people in need

MOSES LAKE - Several families around the area are going to have a Christmas after all.

Through a program offered by the North Columbia Community Action Council, several homeless and low-income families have been adopted by local organizations and churches.

Several families received gifts, clothing and food Sunday from throughout Moses Lake.

Council community service coordinator Mavis Barnett said she heard from several organizations looking to adopt families, including the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Ministries, Express Personnel, Big Bend Community College, Heritage College and Grace Harvest Church.

Then she spoke to St. Martin's Episcopal Church Community Priest Gayle Gaither about a client, and mentioned the program.

"He said, 'We were just talking about what we could do for Christmas for the families in the community,'" Barnett recalled. "And he said, 'And I'll take 10 of your families.'"

"We have been doing food baskets for probably eight years or so," Gaither explained. "This year, we wanted to make sure we found the neediest families, and we felt the council had a better source for that."

In addition to the baskets, the church also decided to adopt the families, providing gifts and furniture.

"Not just for Christmas here, but hopefully we can continue to help," he said. "There's so many needs out there right now, and the problem with it is there's not enough resources for them. Of course, as a Christian, that's our mission, to help others. That's our biggest draw to this - we give it quite a bit of emphasis in this church that Christ has led us to do that, and that's what we need to do."

The church developed an endowment this year to help get more to people in need, Gaither said.

"In a situation like Christmas, we just couldn't see all these little tiny guys doing without presents," he said. "We've seen families that have absolutely no furniture, no clothes, because some of them come here quickly from other areas. I know we have a couple from Louisiana, and I know people who came out here out of an abusive situation with just the clothes on their back."

Those 10 families selected for the church included people from each council program, Barnett said.

"This was a blessing, to me," she said. "Just to see how much love there is in Moses Lake, how big the hearts of the people are."

Jeffrey Streifel, his wife Terri and their four children were amongst the people receiving donations.

Streifel said he had a good job in Oregon, moving his family from North Dakota, but his position was eliminated in April. The family looked for work around the area, traveling from Oregon to a shelter program in Idaho and living on his unemployment, heading into Boise, Idaho, and Yakima, and then making contact with the council and Barnett.

"It gives us a place to live and a good stable environment," Streifel said of the council's shelter program. "This is a nice community. People here are so caring."

Streifel is looking for work in parts and maintenance; he was hoping to hear about a job Monday afternoon.

"I just want to get something stable, for these guys more so than myself," he said of his children.

Ashley Tremont said the efforts of others help her save money, and increases her desire to help other people.

"Hopefully one day, we'll be able to," she said.

"We're truly thankful, truly thankful," Ashley Marcha said.

Barnett said she preferred the donors deliver the gifts to the people and "get the joy of giving these gifts to the children."

"These single moms wouldn't be able to afford to give their children Christmas if it wasn't for programs like this," she said. "A lot of the women we work with, if she only has one child, she only gets $440 from (the Department of Social and Health Services). And it's impossible to buy Christmas and pay rent too."

Barnett provided wish lists to the donors, for the children and also for the parents.

"Most of them said, 'If my children have Christmas, don't worry about me,'" she said. "One mom said all she wanted was a pair of pajamas. Another mom said she wanted a DVD player. She had a TV and DVDs, but no way to play the DVDs."

Many of the women are moving into their own places, but they don't have anything, Barnett added. The church is going to help them with household items.

Barnett does not believe the community is aware of the need which exists all around them.

"I don't think they know exactly what we do here," she said. "I don't think they are aware of the population of single moms that are low income. A woman with three in the family, they get $546 a month … They can't afford a lot of luxuries."

Council Community Services Director Thomas Bonnington said such programs help low-income families to feel less stigma, and also helps the people delivering the gifts establish relationships so they can provide further support.

"This is a perfect opportunity, too, if somebody had the time and wanted to volunteer to help coordinate, we could get not only more families adopted, potentially, but it would alleviate our workload, because like everybody else we're stretched thin on the dollars and staff," he said.

Bonnington said the people who receive the donations are grateful for the things they receive.

"Even though we're service providers, we can't provide all the stuff," he said. "It takes a community to do this. It's really good to see this much response this year."

Barnett hopes the program will receive more support, for Christmas and beyond.

"People are not just homeless on Christmas," she said. "Our shelter is open all year long, so those people are still going to need household items when they move."

Barnett has been doing such work since 1994, working in Seattle before she arrived in Moses Lake.

"This is the first time we've had this big of a deal in Moses Lake," she said. "Usually we get three or four families adopted, but this year we've gotten 18. I think it's a blessing, I really do."

For more about the program, the council's shelter or to become involved, contact Barnett at 509-765-9206, ext. 228.