Unity Park is one such group. Founded in 2004, by Neale Mansfield, himself a former homeless person, Unity Park was originally designed to grow a vegetable garden for the homeless to cultivate and use. Unity Park has since expanded its ministry to meet a variety of needs, which currently includes breakfast and lunch, recreation, Bible studies, locally grown, organic vegetable gardens, barbers for cutting hair, as well as host of job fairs and placement services.
The great thing about Unity Park is that it was created with serving the homeless in mind. There is ample space for lines to form and for people to mingle with one another. There are picnic tables, trash receptacles and even a port-a-potty.
It is designed to allow those doing outreach to share a meal with others rather than to simply feed people. It is a safe environment and is conducive to true fellowship between neighbors. And that's the point of Unity Park. Neighbors.
The homeless of East Side Fort Worth have ample access to food and clothes and blankets, with 3 residential centers and 4 established meal centers within a 7 mile radius of each other. (Though we did learn that toiletries and clean socks are the hardest things for most homeless to come by.) What the homeless need is community.
And that's where Unity Park comes in. Serving the homeless with food and clothing and much needed community.
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