Results: Our organization’s track record of serving the Queens and Brooklyn community dates back to 1984 with the opening of the OCLM non-denominational church, which encompassed a mobile outreach segment that spanned the 5 boroughs of New York City. Since that time, the church has assisted individuals with locating adequate housing and nourishment. Our service to the community continued when, in 1988, we began operation of two drug/alcohol rehabilitation centers (male and female) which provided recovery services, transitional housing, and full meals to the destitute and homeless. Our program consisted of counseling, job training and placement, social services, medical care, and general assistance. Although now defunct, statistically, our rehabilitation centers succeeded in achieving family integration at approximately an 80% rate, from the rehabilitation of parents to assisting parents in locating their children in foster care to helping them obtain permanent housing. These families have also become active members of our ministry.
We continue in our efforts to reach out to our community and partnered with the Department of Homeless Services in November of 1999 to open the Van Siclen Family Residence (VSFR), an extension of OCLM. In August of 2006, OCLM opened the sister shelter of VSFR, the Pulaski Family Residence (PFR). Both shelters are currently in operation, providing housing and social services to 40 families with children per day.
Description of Liberty Café:
In 2005, OCLM began serving meals to the Brooklyn and Queens community twice per week from its church location at 78-14 Rockaway Boulevard; Woodhaven, NY 11421 and from its primary shelter location at 246 Jamaica Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11207. Due to an increasing need for hunger relief and social services for community residents, OCLM acquired an additional location with food preparation equipment and adequate space for services. The additional site, located at 275 Liberty Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11207, is known as Liberty Café and is a restaurant/soup kitchen serving hot lunches to the East New York Industrial Park community and its surrounding areas. The Café, which opened in December 2009, is currently serving nearly 500 meals per day.
free-of-charge Monday through Friday from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Target demographics: Many people in need
Direct beneficiaries per year: over 98,000 free lunches in Brooklyn, food in bags to the community of East New York and Bedfors Stuvensant,
Geographic areas served: New York City
Programs: Referrals, food service, food pantry, counseling, after care for children, ESL Classes, and many more.