WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Cars packed the parking lot Thursday at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church on 33rd Street in West Palm Beach.
With help from Palm Beach Harvest, Abiade Granger said they have been feeding the community since the pandemic began.
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"We just wanted to connect and serve," Granger said.
That's when feeding the need took on a new meaning.
"A lot of people are hurting out there," Beverly, a volunteer, said.
Tanya Young Williams and her team are stepping in to help.
"People who are driving and asking for food are very often in a position emotionally they've never been in, in their life," Young Williams said.
She is the founder of Pivot Treatment and Wellness, which usually treats people with substance disorders.
Now, with a grant from the Florida Department of Health volunteer services program, she can offer free mental health services to people 200 percent below the poverty line.
"We had to branch out so we could put our arms around a bigger community of people who need our services," Young Williams said.
John Prince Park, once known as Tent City for the homeless who lived there, is where they started their outreach. Since it was dismantled, Young Williams said they have had to start from scratch.
"We had established relationships with some of the residents, and they trusted that we would return to be able to help them," she said.
Now, by partnering with Calvary Baptist, Young Williams is hoping to reach those who need help most. Volunteers like Beverly now get to pass out food and hope.
"As a village, if we work together, we can hopefully help this community and these people in ways that we couldn't even imagine," Beverly said.