South Peoria Neighborhod

OUR MISSION IS TO EMPOWER RIVERWOOD INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES BY REDUCING HUNGER, COMBATING POVERTY, AND PROVIDING A PATHWAY TO EMPOWERMENT TO IMPROVE LIVES THROUGH DIRECT SERVICES AND COLLABORATIONS.

SOUTH PEORIA NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTION FOUNDATION (SPNCF), DBA SOUTH TULSA COMMUNITY HOUSE (STCH). IN THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022, STCH WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO A TOTAL OF 5,951 PEOPLE IN 3,522 HOUSEHOLDS. RIVERWOOD IS TULSA'S SECOND MOST DENSELY POPULATED NEIGHBORHOOD, SECOND ONLY TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA. OUR COMMUNITY HOUSES A THIRD OF ALL SECTION 8 HOUSING IN TULSA AND HAS LEVELS OF CHILDHOOD POVERTY HIGHER THAN THE CITY OF TULSA OR STATE OF OKLAHOMA ACCORDING TO THE LAST CENSUS. THE GREATEST DEMAND FOR SERVICES DURING THIS YEAR WAS FOR FOOD, MAINLY DUE TO COVID-RELATED LOSS OF WORK. WE THEREFORE PUT OUT AN EMERGENCY APPEAL, TO WHICH PARTNERS RESPONDED VERY GENEROUSLY. WE WERE ABLE TO DOUBLE THE PROVISION OF FOOD EVERY 30 DAYS (2 MEALS PER DAY/10 DAYS). STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS PROCESSED ENOUGH DONATED AND PURHCASED FOOD, TO MAKE 115,045 MEALS. LIMITED MOBILITY IS ANOTHER POVERTY BARRIER. TO HELP OVERCOME THIS, SPNCF DISTRIBUTED 764 BUS TOKENS TO HELP CLIENTS OBTAIN INCOME AND BENEFITS, SECURE HOUSING AND ATTEND VITAL APPOINTMENTS. RESTRICTED INTERNET ACCESS AND CONNECTIVITY IS A THIRD POVERTY BARRIER. DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE REPORTING PERIOD SPNCF'S COMPUTER CENTER WAS OPEN DAILY AND WAS TYPICALLY SUPPORTED BY STAFF OR VOLUNTEERS. DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022, 76 INDIVIDUALS USED THE COMPUTERS TO SEEK WORK, PREPARE RESUMES, PAY BILLS, COMPLETE/SUBMIT APPLICATIONS AND NUMEROUS OTHER TASKS.

SOUTH PEORIA NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTION FOUNDATION (SPNCF), DBA SOUTH TULSA COMMUNITY HOUSE (STCH) IS A "ONE STOP" SOCIAL SERVICE CENTER IN ONE OF TULSA'S MOST VULNERABLE AND OVERLOOKED NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS AREA, KNOWN AS THE RIVERWOOD COMMUNITY, COVERS THE FOUR SQUARE MILES FROM 51ST TO 81ST AND FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE TO LEWIS AVENUE. THE 61ST AND PEORIA QUADRANT IS INCLUDED IN THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE. OVER THE PAST FISCAL YEAR, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED FLUCTUATED BETWEEN 400 AND 800, WITH APPROXIMATELY 270 FAMILIES SERVED. AMONG THEM ARE LOW-INCOME SENIORS, VETERANS, FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS, WHO RELY ON THE SUPPORT FROM STCH TO MAKE IT FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT. UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, WE PROVIDED DIRECT SERVICES(FOOD, HYGIENE, COMPUTERS, BUS TOKENS AND MORE) AT OUR SOUTH TULSA COMMUNITY HOUSE FACILITY. WE HAD IN-HOUSE PARTNERS WHO WERE ALSO PROVIDING COUNSELING SERVICES, EMERGENCY INFANT SERVICES AND LEGAL AID. DUE TO THE COVID RESTRICTIONS, STCH HAD TO CURTAIL SOME IN-PERSON SERVICES, WHILE EXPANDING OTHER EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICE.

WITH THE SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS, RETAIL STORES, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, SPNCF IS WORKING HARD TO "HELP A LITTLE, EMPOWER A LOT". WE ENVISION A COMMUNITY WHERE ALL MEMBERS CAN ACCESS THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. IN THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022, VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTED 492 HOURS TOWARDS OUR MISSION OF REDUCING HUNGER, COMBATTING POVERTY, AND PROVIDING A PATHWAY TO EMPOWERMENT. SEVERAL VOLUNTEER POSITIONS WERE CONVERTED TO PAID WHICH RESULTED IN AN OVERALL DECLINE IN VOLUNTEER HOURS.