We are excited to share stories over the next few weeks about what the local church is doing with 111Project through the CarePortal.  We hope you will be encouraged by the impact the Church is making.

In March, a caseworker in Tulsa County shared that a single mother of three children needed help furnishing her apartment. OKDHS had been involved with the family for a few months, working with the mother to help ensure that her children were living in a safe environment. The family was new to Tulsa and had few supports. Despite this mom working hard to provide for her children, she was unable to purchase any furniture for their home. She and her children were sitting and sleeping on the floor. If the overall situation did not improve, OKDHS would have to remove the children from their mother and place them into foster homes.

The caseworker sent a request to local churches through CarePortal requesting beds for the family, a shower curtain, a kitchen table and chairs, seating for the living room, and a vacuum. Responding through CarePortal, several local churches came together to meet all of these needs! Because the Church met these tangible needs, a mom was encouraged, the situation improved, and this family of four was able to stay together in their home – praise God!

In response to the Church providing for this family, the caseworker said:

A vacuum cleaner is something I think most of us don’t think about often. It’s just a necessity that we have around and a chore when we have to use it. For Ms. B’s family, a vacuum cleaner means for the first time in a year they will be able to have a clean, vacuumed apartment, which is a double blessing since much of this family’s time is spent sleeping and sitting on the floor since they’ve had no furniture or beds — another need being met by churches through the CarePortal. Thank you so much for blessing this family.

In this case, items as seemingly simple as a vacuum cleaner and a few beds allowed these kids to stay with their mother and prevented three children from entering foster care. We are thankful to God for using CarePortal to help local churches be His hands and feet in our state.