VINITA, Okla. — The Vinita Day Center is making a significant impact in a city of roughly 6,000 people, feeding about 1,000 unhoused people every month and serving as a regional hub for those experiencing homelessness.
Unhoused people have been traveling from Tulsa, Ketchum, and surrounding areas to access the center's services. The center has been feeding thousands consistently for the last year and a half.
The center recently added a shower, washer and dryer — all funded by community donations and grants, including one from the Cherokee Nation.
Christopher Brookfield, a day center volunteer, said the resources available there fill a critical gap for people in need.
"If it wouldn't be for the day center here in Vinita there is a lot of people that would be struggling with food, with hygiene products, with showers, with washing their clothes, having access to a phone to call their family," Brookfield said.
Brookfield said the center helped him rehabilitate his life after his mother got sick. The Cherokee Nation has since approved another grant for commercial washers and dryers to help even more people. The project is expected to take several months to complete.
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