KISSIMMEE, Fla. — For 20 years, the Osceola Christian Ministry Center in Kissimmee has provided hot meals, clothes and medical services for the homeless. Now with the guidance of County Commissioner Peggy Choudhry and the Salvation Army, the center will have even more resources.
1. The Osceola Christian Ministry Center in Kissimmee has a new partnership with the Salvation Army.
2. The First Baptist Church of Kissimmee has run the Osceola Christian Ministry Center for 20 years with the help of other churches around town. The services available will continue to be offered:
- Showers
- Clothes closet
- Daily hot meals
- Food pantry
- Medical and dental services
3. Since 2017, County Commissioner Peggy Choudhry has been trying to get a resource center open for the homeless. Funding for something like that has been shot down by her colleagues so she decided to use her district’s betterment funds to help make this a reality.
4. In March 2019, Choudhry gave $50,000 to the Salvation Army to jump on board and help revamp the Osceola Christian Ministry Center.
5. Expectations:
- Phase 1: (expected to be up and running in the next nine months):
- Career counseling
- Laundry services
- Financial assistance with mortgage, rent payments and utility bills
- More doctors in the medical unit
- Phase 2: The goal is to have the center stay open into the evening hours and weekends to make emergency services available around the clock.
- Phase 3: For the final phase, leaders behind this project are contemplating purchasing neighboring land to expand the center.
6. Choudhry also gave more than $30,000 from her District 1 betterment grants to several other non-profits at this official announcement.
- Access Community Awareness Center: $1k
- Overflowing Fountain Outreach Ministries Corp: $2k
- Fighting For Our Heroes: $3k
- Hispanic Federation: $28k
- Osceola Council on Aging: Two transportation buses