Community at OIM

Community. That's one of the three words that you'll find inside OIM's logo. It's a word that many of us use to describe our circle of friends. When we go through hard times, it is often our community, beyond our family, that is there for us. It is our community that extends a helping hand when we are in need.

At OIM, we want to see "flourishing communities where people are valued, shown dignity, respect, and given the opportunity to attain an improved quality of life." We want our street friends to have a community where they know they can always find a helping hand.

But what does that look like practically? Through street outreach, our teams know our street friends by name, and some outreach volunteers talk with them beyond normal outreach hours. It also looks like our street friends coming to our veteran and youth programs, building friendships with peers in a similar stage of life, as well as with our volunteers and staff. It also means that our street friends can come to our building and find support when they're hungry. I praise God that our programs do a great job of creating and developing communities for our street friends.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are our street friends' only community. So, thank you for your support of OIM, for your prayers, for your generous donations, and for your volunteer service. All of it matters. Without you, we could not create communities where our friends in need are shown dignity, compassion, and respect.

~ Andrew, Strategic Communications & PR Manager