TULSA – A mom was struggling to buy coats for her children this winter, a young man aging out of foster care was facing homelessness, and a local widow was beginning to feel like a burden to her loved ones.  

Thankfully, Stand in the Gap was there to intercede.  

SITG Ministries is a non-profit organization that works with prisoners, orphans, and widows and connects them with people who care. 

“Young adults and the people we’re serving need relationships,” SITGM Life Launch Community Development Manager Shannon O’Brien said.  

Stand in the Gap has been a requesting agency on CarePortal since March of 2020. O’Brien said they are thankful for CarePortal and how it has provided new avenues and opened new doors to wrap care around the people they love.  

“It’s provided us new avenues of us being really heavy on relational care,” she said. 

Through three programs – Women in Transition, Life Launch, and Stand in the Gap for Widows – lives across Oklahoma are being radically changed through relational connections. 

Women in Transition is a program that confronts the Oklahoma incarceration problem. Oklahoma is the nation’s leader in incarcerated women per capita, according to SITGM.  

Women in Transition is a three-step program: education, relationships, and finally connections. Women in the program will take classes ranging from anger management and dealing with stress to facing addiction and understanding the power of “no.” Over 6,000 women are coached each year.  

After graduating from the course, these women will remain in a relationship with the staff as they work on changing their lives. Finally, volunteers surround the woman and support her on her journey to a healthier life.  

Life Launch is a year-long program that serves children, ages 16 – 24, who are aging out of the foster care system and provides them with a support system.  

“We recruit from the Christian community to get mentors for our young adults,” O’Brien said. “Then, with that, every young adult gets a team of mentors to walk with them.”    

Mentors will work in teams of two to four and spend three to eight hours a month with their mentee and communicate weekly in a group chat. The goal is to create a safe and successful environment for the mentee.  

Stand in the Gap has 38 mentors, but still needs at least 10 more. Anyone interested can sign up for an informational training event on the SITGM events page.  

The Stand in the Gap Widows program works with churches from coast to coast on how they can love the widows in their congregation. SITGM helps churches create a small group setting with a curriculum and toolkit on how to serve widows – like hosting community events or trips, creating a benevolence fund, or a car care program.  

This curriculum is in 50 churches, with more coming on board every week.  

Stand in the Gap lives out the Lord’s calling in James 1:27: Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  

CarePortal is used for the Women in Transition and Life Launch programs, O’Brien said. 

“CarePortal has been pivotal for us,” she said. “With us being relational, we want our teams to have a high relational impact and low transactional impact. CarePortal can fill that void.”   

Although mentors may not be able to purchase items like basketball shoes or help cover the electric bill, they can advocate for these needs and give the church the chance to meet them.  

“I’m excited to use it so the people that are in our programs realize like they’re loved first and foremost – that’s our priority,” she said. “And then for CarePortal to help us meet supplemental needs of like, we love you and then also the church loves you in this way too.”   

Anyone interested in volunteering with Stand in the Gap Ministries can visit their website.