PAWHUSKA, Okla. — The Osage County community came together to create a warming shelter in a local church.
Corrie O'Banion, who recently joined the Osage County Sheriff's Office learned there were not any warming shelters in her community and began reaching out to partner agencies.
"We all started talking about kind of the larger issues at play in a really rural community, and how to get people access and knowledge about the different things that the area had," said O'Banion.
One of those calls was to Donna Williams, who said she could not believe with Osage County being such a large part of the state how under resourced the area was.
"That's unacceptable, that won't do," said Williams. "So, we're gonna set up a warming station."
The team began spreading the word on Friday, calling for donations and volunteers as well as a facility to borrow.
At first, the group started setting up at Pawhuska Bible Church. They quickly learned through the volume of donations, that the space was not equipped to meet the need.
Someone connected O'Banion to Justin Turney, Senior Pastor of the First Bible Church. After making a few calls, Turney got the 'ok' to open up the church's Fellowship Center.
"Really, the churches and the community members working together to meet those it’s gone smoothly and seamlessly and probably provided even more than what’s originally needed, but we’re meeting needs," said Turney. "We were able to set up several cots, and air mattresses, people came in and started bringing food, some people donated time cooking food, and it just started taking off."
The whole operation was very spur of the moment, but it's been a community effort. Between donating time, resources, contacts or information, O'Banion said it's been a hectic but productive few days.
"Everyone knows someone, and so, if we don’t, they’ll pass it down a chain until they find the person that does know it or does have it," said O'Banion. "Then they pass it back through. It's just this interconnected web of people leveraging their resources or knowledge."
Williams said if just one individual came inside, it would have been worth it for her. She shared that she had experienced homelessness for two years, and was able to find solid ground once she got to Pawhuska.
Her own life experience played a role in making this project be a success.
"Where I come from, how I’ve grown up is you see a need, you fill the need," said Williams. "You don’t wait for somebody else to do it, you just take action and you do it."
The core team members are looking into grant funding, as everything has been funded out of pocket or through donations. With additional monetary support, they hope to be able to expand and serve more individuals in the future.
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