In the summer of 2017, St. Thomas More adopted Cottage #8 in the newly-built McKown Village which now also houses Food and Shelter's offices, soup kitchen and dining hall. These 32 units provide supportive, temporary housing to families and individuals as they transition from homelessness into permanent homes. As the sponsor of Cottage #8, St. Thomas More invites parishioners and friends to donate furniture, dishes, linens, home decor, and practical items such as trash cans and chip clips. Parishioners also contribute their time and energy furnishing the cottage, installing shelves, and hanging pictures to turn the cottage into a home before a new resident arrives. On June 30, 2017, our first resident moved in. She was thrilled, and very grateful. She later expressed that all she was hoping for was a place to lay her head. We are grateful to all who have made this ministry possible.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020: Our current resident has moved on to permanent housing! Good for Bob, and Godspeed. We are in the process of cleaning,furnishing and preparing for our third resident. Thanks to a family in the parish who is preparing to sell their home and most of its furnishings, as well as other generous parishioners and friends, we have pretty much everything we need to welcome a new friend in need and help them make a transition from homelessness to home. Monetary donations are always welcome and help us purchase any last-minute needs, and also give the newly homed person a little something they can use to choose and purchase something that might make it feel more like home. Thank you to all who support Cottage 8!

UPDATE April 14, 2018  Our first Cottage #8 resident moved into an apartment in Oklahoma City closer to where she works at a fulltime job (with benefits!). She was very grateful to have furnishings and household items for her new home as a key aspect of this ministry is that each resident is able to leave with the contents of the cottage to start the next chapter of his/her life. We were able to “flip” the cottage in ten days in an effort to beat the cold weather, and on April 5th a new resident, a male in his late 50s, was able to lay his head on his own pillow moving from a garage into the little cottage fully furnished by the love and compassion of our parishioners.

If you would like to help, please email us. Gift cards and monetary donations are both welcome and appreciated. Checks can be made out to St. Vincent de Paul; please, indicate that your gift is to be used for Cottage #8. All donations are used to help our resident, and future residents of Cottage #8. When our current resident moves, he is invited to take with him all the contents of the cottage to furnish his next home, and we will begin again with a new resident. Thank you for your interest!

Cottage #8 at McKown Village is a parish-wide project supported by St. Vincent de Paul and the The Knights of Columbus at St. Thomas More.