The Oklahoma City Sentinel: City Care to host 4th Annual Odyssey Project on August 12

By Darla Shelden, City Sentinel Reporter —

OKLAHOMA CITY – City Care will host its fourth annual signature event, The Odyssey Project, on Thursday, August 12. The evening will include food, drinks, art, music and meaningful conversation benefiting City Care’s work to end cycles of social injustice and extreme poverty in the community. The event will take place from 6 – 8 p.m.

The story telling event will raise critical funds for Oklahoma City’s unsheltered neighbors.

The event will host 200 guests on the Third Floor of the City Place building, 204 N. Robinson, in downtown Oklahoma City.

“We are eager to invite and welcome the community to get up close and personal with a challenging story exhibiting the fight and resiliency of the human spirit through the worst of odds,” said Chris Zach and Holly Hoyler, this year’s event co-chairs.

“This night will help break some of the common stereotypes surrounding homelessness and shine a light on the redemptive value of those often overlooked,” Zach and Hoyler continued.

“Our guests will leave with an educated understanding of the complex issues at play, a renewed passion to serve those in need and a potential avenue to plug in and make a significant difference through City Care.”

This year’s Odyssey Project is inspired by a short film, produced by Wes Gillett, featuring Latoya and Jamael and their five children who, as a family, experienced homelessness in Oklahoma City.

“Not many of us in a position to sponsor or attend an event like The Odyssey Project have had to grapple with homelessness,” said Rachel Freeman, City Care’s Chief Operating Officer.

“Most of us have a community that would pick up the phone if we were calling in a crisis,” Freeman added. “We have family members and friends who would lend us money, drive us to work, make up a bed, and do whatever it took to ensure we weren’t left unsheltered. But that simply isn’t the case for thousands each year in Oklahoma City – and that can be easy to forget when you don’t see it up close.

“While we can’t all relate to the despair of experiencing homelessness, we can reflect on times we have felt alone, misunderstood, or invisible,” Freeman said.

Read the full article here.