In recent months, Nick Epifano — always one to give back to the community in a variety of ways — was inspired to find a way to try to help with the homeless problem in the area.

The owner/operator of McDonald’s of Fayette County said God began working on his heart to get involved following a Facebook post he saw around Christmas time.

“I think we all know we’ve had a homeless problem in our area for awhile. I really didn’t know the extent of it,” Epifano said. “Jim Blair (a Washington Court House City Council member) had made a post on Facebook which was perceived the wrong way. He posted that if you see homeless individuals, call Community Action, or if you see them on the weekend or after hours, call the police. I know Jim, he’s a really good guy. His intent was to get them help, but it got twisted around a little bit. But when I saw some of the comments on Facebook, it really opened my eyes to how many homeless people that are out there. They’re living under bridges, by Kroger, out at the Y and several different places.”

Then, adding to the pull on his heartstrings, Epifano said a homeless person rummaged through the dumpster at the McDonald’s on Elm Street several times.

“God works on your heart sometimes and He expects us to do something. To hear about this person who was so hungry that they were going through our dumpster just to find something to eat. And then laying in bed one night when we had that cold spell, I’m thinking: How in the world can people be outside in this? I knew I had to do something,” Epifano said. “I feel bad that it took me that long to act. One of things we always say at my restaurants is that when our customers come in and patronize the restaurants, it’s an investment in the community and we’re going to give a portion back. We try to live by that and in this case, it was definitely time to do something.”

Epifano said he was somewhat familiar with the work of Hands of Christ Street Ministry in Washington C.H. and its mission.

The ministry began in 2014 with best friends taking a $5 McDonald’s lunch card, a Bible, and prayer to the streets. One of the founders of the ministry, Lori Bowen, said God provided the growth of a small food pantry into a two-car garage, with delivery available to the homebound. Now, the ministry is flourishing with the involvement of several area churches with over 50 volunteers helping at the free community outreaches and operating out of two buildings.

Epifano and Blair decided to head over to the ministry and talk to the organizers about what they could do to help.

McDonald’s of Fayette County and Hands of Christ Street Ministry are now partnering together to provide homeless individuals a hot sandwich, chips, a snack and a drink — an initiative that kicked off Monday, Feb. 19. Now, Monday-Sunday from 5-6 p.m., the homeless can come to Hands of Christ, located at 301 W. Elm St., to receive their meal.

“This is to help people who need it,” Epifano said. “This isn’t a big corporate program, it’s coming from a small business person. When you look at McDonald’s, it’s made up of a couple thousand small business people. A lot of people think we’re not local. I live here, my kids go to school here, we do business here. This initiative is between us and Hands of Christ to try to help the situation. I’m so appreciative of them working with me on this. They are such a blessing. My goal is that this community understands everything they have to offer and to get the word out. Until we went into their facility, I had no idea the depth and scope of how they’re helping people and the resources they have to offer.”

The ministry building is currently operating four days a week, two Saturdays a month, and two evening hours a month.

When people come to the ministry, every person receives a dozen eggs, half a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and a choice of meat. In addition to food items, the shopper may choose personal hygiene items, toiletries and household cleaners. The ministry offers nutritional snacks, drinks and prayer to all who visit.

“Everything is free to the community,” Bowen said. “When this started out about nine years ago, I just felt led to walk the streets in Washington Court House and pray over the community, the neighborhoods and anyone who got placed in front of me. What I had with me was the Lord, the McDonald’s cards and a Bible. If I met somebody, I would pray with them and give them a McDonald’s card to go have lunch to show them how much they are loved.”

Lori and her husband, Mike, who also helps with the ministry, said they’ve experienced homelessness and know how it feels.

“We kept praying and we got in touch with a distribution center out of Grove City and they started giving us a little bit of food,” said Bowen. “We started a food pantry out of our two-car garage on our property. Some people would come out to our house. If they couldn’t make it to our house, we would bag up some things and deliver it to them. Then COVID hit, so we would set up a table with a prayer box and food, and people would pull in our driveway and fill up their bags with food and put their prayers in a prayer box. We still did home deliveries and it just continued to grow.”

Bowen continued: “So two years ago, our donations were at about $650 a month, that’s all we could count on coming in. But we knew we needed a larger facility and we didn’t know how this was going to work out. So we went out searching and found the building that we’re currently in. They were still working on it at the time. Mike and I and two of our good friends went in and prayed in the building. God provided a way. The rent was $3,500, but the owner came down to $1,500. A church paid for our first month’s rent and deposit. We just stepped out in faith, God parted the waters and we’ve not been late on a month’s rent. We just signed our third year lease. Now, our donations are up to close to $2,000 a month.”

As part of its community outreach, Hands of Christ offers:

– Homeless ministry: They provide tents, blankets, clothing, and warm items for winter, such as shoes, socks and non-perishable food items. They provide assistance with resources, such as helping to find local shelters. They help in providing needs for homeless children, such as clothing, shoes, food, school supplies, toys for birthdays, and items for Christmas gifts.

– Hotel ministry: They supply non-perishable and microwavable foods, drinks, and personal hygiene items to those in hotels who are homeless or just have a need.

– Clothing ministry: They provide new and gently-used clothing to adults and children of all ages who are in need. The clothing center is open to shop by appointment only.

– Kids ministry: They have been a site for the Big Blue Bus, which provides lunch during the summer and is operated by Washington City Schools.

– Furniture ministry: They will help with new or gently-used furniture and household items that they might have available at the time.

– Minor auto repair ministry: They provide small auto repairs to help those who otherwise cannot afford to repair their vehicle, which causes them to lose transportation to their job or appointments.

– Fellowship of hope ministry – This is a time to get to know women in the community, share what’s on their hearts, hear a little about what the Hands of Christ ministry does, why they do it and to encourage one another in Christ.

To make a donation to the ministry, checks can be made out to “Hands of Christ Ministry” with PO Box 122. Bowen can be contacted at 740-463-1885.

“We have not done a fundraiser yet, but we’re looking into that,” said Bowen. “We got our first grant ever from Cargill. We’re also in the process of possibly building more behind our current location. We’re still in talks with the city about that. We need to grow because there is a lot more need. A lot of these people are working, but are having a hard time making ends meet. There are a lot of elderly who are homeless that are coming in. A lot of times when we say ‘homeless,’ we think of people living outside somewhere. Homeless can be anything from sleeping under bridges and out in the elements, to people staying in other units, people’s garages, couch surfing, or staying in hotels. They’re not necessarily outside, but they are still homeless.”

Bowen continued, “We had a homeless man come in during the winter….he was in bad shape. We brought him in, set him down on the couch….he was just shivering, so we helped him. We got down on our hands and knees, took his shoes and socks off. His feet were soak and wet and they were wrinkled….he was just so cold. We got him socks and a new pair of shoes. He went to the bathroom and changed into dry clothes. We gave him a coat and food, and then he went on his way. We didn’t ask his story because we just care about him right here and now, we care about where he is going. We tell these people, ‘We all have a story, we’ve all been someplace in our life. We don’t care where you’ve been, we care about where you’re going and we want to help you get there as much as we can.’”

As part of the launch of the new McDonald’s/Hands of Christ partnership, Epifano also announced he’s donating $5,000 to the ministry in order to purchase more resources for the program.

“We’re not just going to give you hamburgers, I also wanted to put my money where my mouth is as far as making sure that this program is successful as we partner together,” he said. “It’s not just about trying to give someone a sandwich and a drink and send them on their way. We’re trying to make sure they know about Christ, and if they have other needs, we’re going to try to make sure they get what they need. Hopefully, it helps them get started on the right path. This isn’t just a one-time deal where we pass out food, it’s an ongoing effort.”