How Columbus homeless shelters will feed hundreds during a pandemic Thanksgiving 

For most Georgians, Thanksgiving this year will mean taking extra precautions. For Columbus homeless shelters, the holiday means carrying on an annual tradition even in the face of the worst public health crisis in generations.

For SafeHouse Ministries in Columbus, it’ll be full steam ahead. The shelter will host several holiday meals for an estimated 150 people inside its Hamilton Road facility. Clients must wear masks, clean hands with sanitizer and have their temperature taken.

“Our clients get it,” said Neil Richardson, director of SafeHouse. “But it is a little bizarre to go to Thanksgiving dinner and have to go through all that.”

Nearly 200 people live in shelters in Muscogee and Russell counties, according to the latest homeless survey by the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley. The survey, however, was done before this year’s pandemic, which has left many unemployed and struggling with food insecurity.

SafeHouse prides itself on serving breakfast and lunch 365 days a year, and that hasn’t stopped during the pandemic — the shelter has been hosting indoor meals by instituting health guidelines like masks and social distancing.

“We’ve kind of rallied around each other for this whole seven months. I’m kind of proud of the fact that, you know, we went mass temperature checks and hand sanitizer in February, when it was first starting….” Richardson said. “I mean if any group is going to be exposed, it’s going to be homeless community. So, we went really crazy on pitching masks, and hand sanitizer.”

Adapting meals to the pandemic

Valley Rescue Mission, another Columbus shelter, typically feeds 800 to 1,000 homeless people during Thanksgiving between its Second Avenue facility and hand-delivered meals. This year, they plan to hold their first in-person meal since the start of the pandemic by doing it outdoors in the parking lot.

“We normally sit here at the main mission in the chow hall where people were able to come inside, sit, fellowship together, almost like in any community type environment,” said Greg Wilson, spokesperson for Valley Rescue. “This year, it will look completely different.”

Rain in the forecast has Wilson worried about pulling off the outdoor meal. If it does rain, meals will be pick-up only. Valley Rescue will also rely on Meals on Wheels to deliver food, a practice they’ve done during the pandemic.

“The needs of the community haven’t gone away just because there is a coronavirus. People still need to be fed, people still are homeless, people still need emergency shelter. People still need bags of groceries, hygiene kits,” Wilson said. “So, what we do every single day has not changed. But how we do it — how we do it most certainly has changed.”

As the pandemic worsens, shelters have had to rely less on volunteers and more on alternative ways to get food and resources to people, all while following federal guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The homeless population in Columbus has had nine positive coronavirus cases total, Richardson says. When asked why he thought that was the case, he gave a detailed explanation of the facility’s safety measures.

“And then I’m gonna be honest, we pray. I believe that God is a healing god,” he added.

Faith is at the heart of Valley Rescue’s purpose, too, Wilson said. It means a great deal to still follow the principles of its mission even as challenges continue to mount.

Creating a feeling of community

Both shelters report that they’ll be able to get food to mouths this Thanksgiving, but fear that clients will miss the feeling of community that a holiday meal can bring.

“In other years, as we start heading into the holidays, somebody comes by with a hot chocolate, somebody comes by with just dessert treats, people come by with a big tray of cookies,” Richardson said. “A lot of that’s going to be missing this year.”

Some things can help fill those gaps to make the holiday feel special. Richardson rattles off strategies: gratitude lists, discussions of thankfulness, and a celebrity visit from Isaiah Crowell, a Las Vegas Raiders running back and Columbus native.

“Even though we aren’t able to sit down and fellowship together and enjoy this meal together does not mean, in any shape, form or fashion that we love any less, that we don’t appreciate them and don’t want to be there for them,” Wilson said.

Those who want to help can make a financial contribution to SafeHouse and Valley Rescue Mission by visiting their websites. Most organizations are accepting a limited number of volunteers.

This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 6:00 AM.