KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Russell Otte at Shelter KC knows how special a home cooked meal can be. He likes cooking pot roast, tuna casserole, and other plates his mother made for him while growing up.
"It gives them a sense of there’s something else out there besides just walking the streets," Otte said.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Caroline Hogan
The people he's referring to are those who come through the door at Shelter KC looking for help. Before he worked in the kitchen, Otte was one of them.
"Got to the point where I was drinking on the job, and I lost my place to live," Otte said. "When I got here, I only had the clothes on my back, and when I left here, I had a whole closet full of clothes, and that all came from donations from people out there."
Shelter KC's Christmas at the Crossroads event is an opportunity for people who are houseless to receive donations, eat food, and share stories in some good company. Having someone to talk to and trust, Otte said, is the best feeling.
"When they talk to them, they talk to them like human beings," Otte said.
This is the fourth year the shelter has held the event. They saw 150 people the first year, but this year, they're expecting as many as 750 people.
"Seventy percent of the people that come to this have never been with us before," said Kara Feitz, Shelter KC's development director. "We want this to be an outreach opportunity."
Shelter KC is always taking donations, from shoes, coats and blankets, to basic toiletries like shampoo and shaving cream. The demand for donations is greater in the colder months.
"We are full every single night," Feitz said. "We have mats down in the chapel where we don’t even have any beds."
The shelter never turns anyone away, even for a meal, because as Otte knows, it's more than just dinner, it's food for your soul.
"It’s like when you go home and you eat and you’re around your family, it’s basically like that here because all the staff treat a lot of these guys like they’re family," Otte said.
Christmas at the Crossroads is on Friday, Dec. 22. Doors open at the Truman at 11 a.m. and close at 3 p.m.
—
