Visiting the Needy
The Buddha Maitreya Omaha Program has been feeding the homeless and needy in the Omaha area and providing them with essential living supplies, mental health services, and outreach for almost 2 years, 365 days a year. The program serves an average of 2,000 people per month. We serve Omaha’s needy, homeless, and individuals with mental health needs who are living on the streets, in shelters, and those who have recently received low-income subsidized housing all counties in the Omaha area.
We serve a changing population of various people who have, for whatever reason, come to be in need of a prepared meal, a place to sleep, and a sense of human connection. Many of the people we serve are in-between shelters or more stable living situations, sometimes living in their cars, camped in parks, or simply wandering the street without even a wallet or a way to get to a grocery store.
We are part of the continuum of care in Omaha and work closely with the Community Alliance Street Outreach Team, the Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, and numerous other organizations to help connect people to their next step in the journey to housing and a better life. Our work is essential because without it, so many of the people we serve would simply sleep in the streets and go without eating that day or even for several days, due to the transient nature of their ability at any given time to find a place to sleep or procure and prepare food for themselves.
We refer people to agencies and services that assist them with permanent housing, mental health care, medical care, and help them get back into the workforce. For a person to be successful in the workforce, they must have their basic needs met. Our program provides these basic necessities, and the people we serve are raised up and supported. They begin to feel more confident and ready to join the workforce and be successful.
The charity is a member of and collaborates with:
1. Community Alliance – https://community-alliance.org/
Community Alliance makes positive outcomes possible through an integrated, whole-person approach to mental health care. It is recovery in action, built on a continuum of care, service, and support. We work with their Street Outreach Team and refer people to them who are in need of housing and other vital assistance. This team provides homeless and needy individuals with medical care; assistance with applying for housing and travel funds; assistance with obtaining personal identification, licenses, birth certificates, etc.; primary health care, rehabilitation, psychiatric and counseling services; refers people for jobs and other community services; and provides family and peer support.
2. The Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless (MACCH) – http://www.endhomelessnesstoday.org/ and http://macchconnect.org/
The Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless is the Omaha metro area’s only Collective Impact homeless services organization. It remains our community’s chief collaborative voice regarding the preventing and ending of homelessness.
3. Nonprofit Association of the Midlands (NAM) (https://www.nonprofitam.org/default.aspx)
NAM helps nonprofits help their communities. There are thousands of nonprofits in our area – each trying to make a difference on their own. NAM brings them together so that each member can benefit from our collective strength.
4. Habitat for Humanity of Omaha – https://habitatomaha.org/
5. UnitedWay of the Midlands – https://www.unitedwaymidlands.org/
6. Sienna Francis House Shelter – https://sienafrancis.org/
7. Leavenworth Street Low Income and Assisted Housing – https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/Nebraska/Omaha
8. The Lutheran Home
9. Open Door Mission
10. Lydia House
11. Jackson House
12. Micah Shelter
13. The police and 911 when situation is urgent
14. Other shelters and services that assist this population
