Lisa Janssen, Program Administrator for the Gathering Place which part of Community Action. The Gathering Place is located 3 blocks from the Governor's mansion and that community has lots of individuals who are low incomes. They can come into the Gathering Place seven days a week from 5:00-6:00 pm and get a nutritious hot meal. In May of 1982, the Gathering Place opened its doors on 1448 E Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Originally designed as a hospitality center, its mission, according to one of the original founders, was to establish a house that could be turned into a place “where anyone with special concern for the poor, elderly, lonely, homeless, hungry, differently abled, and disenfranchised would feel welcome.” Gathering Place founders envisioned the house as a place where people from all walks of life could be in the fellowship of one another so as to fill a void in the spiritual community in Lincoln.
Now in its 39th year, the Gathering Place is a program of Community Action and serves over 34,000 meals annually to those who face hunger in Lincoln. Evening meals are served Monday through Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This important work is made possible through the hard work and dedication of over 1,700 volunteers annually, and contributions from the community. Though its offerings have changed throughout the years, Community Action's Gathering Place is still very much a reflection of its original vision as a place where people from all walks of life can come together, converse, and if only for an hour or two, gather together as one.
In the last ten years, the population of the city of Lincoln alone has grown by more than 50 thousand people. In that same amount of time, the number of people living in poverty has grown by 45%. Poverty diminishes human potential. It takes away opportunities. And it prevents people from living their best lives.
At Community Action, we fight the causes and conditions of poverty to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Our 17 programs provide distinct services in four impact areas: Early Childhood Education, Homelessness Prevention, Financial and Family Well-Being, and Hunger Relief and Healthy Food Access. Our strengths-based approach to case management, which utilizes Motivational Interviewing™, guides our work to empower people living in poverty to reach economic stability.
The Mission at Community Action is to: Empower people living in poverty to reach economic stability. .At Community Action, we fight the causes and conditions of poverty to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Our 17 programs provide distinct services in four impact areas: Early Childhood Education, Homelessness Prevention, Financial and Family Well-Being, and Hunger Relief and Healthy Food Access. Our strengths-based approach to case management, which utilizes Motivational Interviewing guides our work to empower people living in poverty to reach economic stability.
The Early Childhood Education consists of Early Head Start, Head Start and Foster Grandparent programs. When it comes to the Homlessness Prevention this program helps with emergency services such as rent, utility, and deposit assistance. It gives out supportive housing, tenant support services, affordable housing and displaced tenant assistance. The program for Financial and Family Well-Being can teach you how to save with matched savings, gives you an opportunity passport, educates you on finance and coaches how to be financially stable and many other things. You can get hunger relief through going to the Gathering Place to get a hot evening meal and they have a program that will teach you on how to eat healthy foods and access them.
The Gathering Place during these cold and longer nights that arrive with winter is offering from 5-6 p.m. welcoming their neighbors to visit their soup kitchen for a free hot, nutritious meal. This kitchen relies primarily on community contributions to operate, and serves over 34,900 meals each year to those experience hunger.