Holdenville Church of the Nazarene supports local children and families in partnership with OKDHS

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 21, 2020) – As part of its Service-First Model, Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) has worked to develop local community partnerships to meet and serve the agency’s customers. As part of this effort, the Holdenville Church of the Nazarene has offered the agency full access, 24-hours a day to a small meeting room and nursery within the church, as well as an attached building on the church grounds with a large room, kitchen and restroom access. These spaces will allow the agency to offer its services and facilitate family meetings and visitations, among many other things in a warm, comfortable setting. 

“Community collaboration is a critical component to our agency’s service delivery and provides a more robust safety net for families during difficult times,” said Secretary of Human Services and Early Childhood Initiatives and OKDHS Director Justin Brown. “We are thankful to the Holdenville Church of the Nazarene for rallying around their neighbors and enhancing our ability to make deep impacts to benefit future generations.”

“The Church of the Nazarene believes that we are called to directly engage and reach out to the most vulnerable, the forgotten, the marginalized of the community in which God has placed us,” said Holdenville Church of the Nazarene Pastor Dane Robinson. “While we were saddened to hear of the closing of our local county’s OKDHS office, we are excited at the new opportunity it has given our church to provide a safe space for families to visit their children and the OKDHS employees to conduct business.”

“We are so thankful to Pastor Dane and his congregation for opening their hearts and church home to our families,” said OKDHS Hughes County Director Amanda Rogers. “We say time and again that we cannot do this work alone, and the church’s commitment to our children and families will create connections and lasting hope for them.”

OKDHS would also like to acknowledge the Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, the Hughes County Health Department and City of Holdenville to thank them for their continued efforts to put service first in their local community.

Families interested in learning more about how they can become a certified foster family in their local community can visit  https://okfosters.org or call 1-800-376-9729. Interested Oklahomans may also visit https://www.ourokdhs.org to raise their hand and join the agency's efforts to better serve the community through innovation and collaborative partnerships.

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