COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Oliver Gospel Mission in Downtown Columbia has been serving the homeless for over 130 years.
In these hard times, they are stepping up and staying open to ensure those who need help receive it, but they need the communities help.
As more of the groups who help the homeless are having to stop services, places like Oliver Gospel Mission are seeing an increase of people in need of their services, tightening their budget.
“We have created a COVID-19 fund for Oliver Gospel Mission," Executive Director Travis McNeal told News19, "because we’ve already seen in just March --- as I look at the financials --- we have already seen a considerable dip in our donations which anyone would expect that.”
McNeal says giving online is the best way you can help them during this time, “We want to fall in line and be good stewards and mouthpieces for our leadership --- and we think that’s asking people to do exactly what our leadership in our state and in our local is telling people to do --- stay home. So, the best thing you can do is to go to your computer, go to olivergospel.org and put in your credit card and send us a donation.”
McNeal says the most important message he wants to get out, though, is that they are still open.
“Well right now, Oliver Gospel is serving a meal at 4:45, around the 5 o’clock hour on the corner there of Taylor and Assembly downtown. Most people know where we are. And we want to serve as many as we can --- we serve as many as we can until we run out of food.”
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