By Mike Kinney
Tiffany Powell, owner of Glo’s Independent Living, has joined forces with Minister DeWanda Joseph of Ya-NEEMA Healing Circle and Supportive Services and Jerry Smith of Nevada-based “I Have a Vision” for a Thanksgiving event serving the unhoused and vulnerable of the community at 145 6th St. in Richmond.
The event is set to take place Wednesday, Nov. 24 and will also supply people in need with 10-minute hot showers starting at 10 a.m., free clothing and free haircuts, according to Powell.
Traditional Thanksgiving meals and desserts will be served in a large tent seating 60, and meals will also be provided to-go in food containers. Organizers have lined up family entertainment, including a pie cook-off challenge, carnival style games and mechanical bull ride. The community member who bakes the best pie will receive $50. And those who can stay on the mechanical bull’s saddle for 30 seconds will get $100.
Smith, a Richmond native, reportedly reached out to Minister Joseph and Powell to form a partnership to bless the community for the holiday season. Their conversation centered around the need for community resources following 20 months of COVID-19 pandemic losses, as well as family gatherings at this time of year.
“Each expressed thankfulness for being open to work together for the greater good of our community,” Smith said.
Added Powell, “All of us remember growing up with Thanksgiving family dinners with the love and support of our families. We are going to bring back those feelings of that love and family to those vulnerable people who don’t have it in our community.”
All COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols will be observed at the event, organizers said.
The event will extend the legacy of Powell’s mother, Gloria Ousborn, who was a mentor to many with alcohol and substance abuse problems, according to community advocate Antwon Cloird.
“She worked in mental health and she always told us we could make that change and lead a strong, positive Godly life,” Cloird said. “Her daughter Tiffany still continues that legacy today by working with the vulnerable and mentoring them just like her mother did. Her outreach to the community for the Thanksgiving dinner is the continuation of her mother’s legacy.”
Those wishing to attend the Thanksgiving event and/or need a ride there, or for more information, can call (510) 932-0882.
