TULSA, Okla. — Hundreds of Tulsans who might not otherwise have a way to celebrate the holiday celebrated Thanksgiving at the Tulsa Day Center.
For Suzanne Stephens, holidays haven't always had that cozy feel that many are accustomed to.
“Holidays were very very hard since I was 17," Stephens said. "I lost my dad unexpectedly, six days before Thanksgiving, and it’s always been very hard for my family during the holidays.”
After years away, she moved back home to Tulsa just a few months ago. Although it's been a short time, she said things are already looking up.
Stephens is focusing on finding pockets of peace and joy as she rebuilds her life here through things like this Thanksgiving celebration.
“To be able to have friends here, which I’ve made, and to know that people care and… I think that it’s very important to know that people do care,” Stephens said.
He's just been in Tulsa for about a week, but Day Center client Johnny Wilkerson agrees with the sentiment.
"Everybody’s attentive, they give me what I want, what I need, and they care," said Wilkerson. "They genuinely care, you can tell, and I like that."
He came here from Dallas. Wilkerson told 2 News he struggled to keep up with rent, after a heart surgery.
"I was out on the street, lost everything," he said.
For two years, he faces the lowest lows imaginable, but now, is climbing back up life's ladder.
This was his first time celebrating a holiday in years.
“In my life growing up, we didn’t have holidays... It’s just another day to me," said Wilkerson. “It’s wild, it’s all I can say, wild. There's so many people here.”
The Tulsa Day Center has already made an impression on Wilkerson, though. He has a lot to be grateful for this year.
“They already got me on the housing list to get an apartment, already," Wilkerson said. “And my case manager got me some food stamps yesterday, I get those in 10 days."
It's the third annual feast at the Tulsa Day Center, sponsored by The Summit Club.
Executive Chef William Lyle and his team prepared to feed up to 800 individuals, but this is just the beginning. He said they plan to be here to serve the community for the years to come.
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