Thursday, September 19, 2024
SPRINGTOWN — A lot is going on at Springtown food pantry Neighbor to Neighbors.
Thanks to donations, the food pantry has two new freezers and a refrigerator. In addition, natural gas company Colt Midstream is expected to volunteer to help the pantry with inside repairs, and Safe Harbor Counseling Center has set up an office in Neighbor to Neighbors’ building.
Neighbor to Neighbors Board President James Heil said the freezers were purchased with a grant for about $8,000 from Angels’ Attic, a North Texas nonprofit that aims to support charities.
“Not only did we get the two freezers, but we got them filled up, and they are in use,” Heil said. “We also had one of our board members donate a refrigerator.”
Now, Neighbor to Neighbors has six freezers and three refrigerators in total. The new appliances allow the food pantry to keep more food on site and not have to take too many trips to Tarrant Area Food Bank.
“We can get bigger orders and be able to go once a week and have enough product there for everybody that comes in, and we don’t run out,” Heil said. “It’s been awesome.”
Safe Harbor Counseling Center approached Neighbor to Neighbors about using some of the food pantry’s space (an old unused office) for therapy sessions, Heil said. The board president is hoping the food pantry’s clients will be able to take advantage of the counseling as well.
“I think it’s going to make a big difference,” Heil said. “I know folks are excited for them to be there. We are there for a short-term solution, but we’re trying to help them get back on their feet, and hopefully with our services and with the counseling services, (we’ll) just be able to help people regain that self-efficiency.”
Safe Harbor Counseling Center has served people in the tri-county area and beyond for 20 years and has locations in Weatherford and Azle. To serve its Springtown-area clients, Safe Harbor has established the office in Neighbor to Neighbors as well as one at Springtown First United Methodist Church and is reaching out to clients to see if they want to meet at one of those locations.
“We feel like we didn’t serve those people well, and so I decided that we really needed some space there locally,” Safe Harbor Program Manager Fran Simpson said.
The offices at Neighbor to Neighbors and Springtown First United Methodist Church only allow for one client to be served at a time, so having two meeting places allows for multiple clients to have sessions at once. If more space is needed, Simpson said she will reach out to other possible meeting places. Neighbor to Neighbors will be utilized during the food pantry’s business hours, and counselors will be there for scheduled sessions. While the counselors won’t be able to accommodate walk-ins, they could look into scheduling future appointments with potential clients. First United Methodist Church can be used as needed, except during peak church times on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.
Eventually, Simpson hopes Safe Harbor will be able to take appointments with people who haven’t been clients of the counseling center previously. She said the center applied for a grant with Texas Health Resources that could help reach that goal. Currently, Safe Harbor works with Center of Hope in Springtown to provide counseling vouchers to people in need, but Simpson is planning to give vouchers to places like Neighbor to Neighbors, counselors at Springtown schools and local churches to refer people.
More good news fell into Neighbor to Neighbors’ lap when Colt Midstream, which has field offices in Springtown and Decatur, reached out to Heil to ask about community service opportunities at the food pantry. Two crews have been scheduled to do some work at the food pantry, including floor repairs, trim work, putting up drywall, painting and “just odds and ends things that don’t ever get done because everybody is helping with the day-to-day operations,” Heil said.
“Very grateful for that because I’m sure they’re going to be able to get a lot done,” he said.
The two crews, which are expected to have between 10-15 people in each of them, will spend the last two Fridays in September working on renovations at Neighbor to Neighbors, Colt Midstream Business Coordinator Makayla Carson said. For the first time, Colt Midstream is hosting a company-wide volunteer month in September.
“Giving back to our community that we live in and work in is a big part of Colt and our core values,” Carson said. “A lot of (Colt Midstream) offices give back in their own ways, but we really wanted to come together as just a company and as a whole and just organize a volunteer month.”
Neighbor to Neighbors was identified by Colt Midstream as a place to volunteer after it was suggested by a Springtown employee. In addition to the tasks Heil mentioned, Carson said the volunteers are expected to do other miscellaneous work.
“They’ll also be restocking any food and organizing the pantry, or if there’s any additional things that they need up there outside of the renovation stuff, they’ll be willing to help,” she said.
All this community support comes after Neighbor to Neighbors had come upon tough times when donations were down, and volunteers were dealing with electrical issues and a leaky roof at the pantry. Thankfully, the community has helped the food pantry resolve some of those issues and is continuing to step up.
“It’s been really awesome just watching everything kind of come together,” Heil said.
