As Krishna Loya, the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center’s (JCOC) Community Engagement Manager, lays out all of the cities and regions in which JCOC has a presence, she makes sure to underscore one key principle: the people they serve – whether that’s through access to food or housing resources, financial assistance, or a community dinner – are their guests.

“That’s really important to us, this idea that humans in crisis are still human beings,” she said. “When people come to us, it’s ‘here, come in, let us serve you, you’re our guest’.”

The JCOC, first established in Hampton Roads in the 1980s, partners with community organizations across the region to connect unhoused families and individuals, veterans, and low-income families with the resources they need to recover from crisis situations. Currently, the JCOC facilitates two housing programs, ongoing food pantry and community meal offerings, and a building project that will result in low-income housing for 38 households, said Krishna. That’s not counting the ways in which the JCOC empowers other organizations to serve their guests.

“If we can’t offer the direct assistance people need, we connect them with the organizations or people who can,” she said. “That’s why our connections with organizations like Waymark are so important. Your teams accelerate what we’re doing by letting people who don’t know about us know that we’re here for them.”

“No questions, no guidelines, people can just come.”

Every weekday, anyone in need of a hot, fresh meal can come to Mount Olive Baptist Church in Virginia Beach – the JCOC’s volunteers will be there, along with any number of the 75 organizations that regularly partners with them to provide that meal.

“These organizations pick dates, and plan the menu, prepare the meals, and then we serve it up to our guests,” said Krishna. “It’s a great way for us to take care of our community, and it gives us an avenue to provide them with resources. People share with us what they feel comfortable with sharing, and based on that, we connect them with the things they might need.”

Typically, those needs are rooted in housing, job or food access, or utility assistance needs, said Krishna. The resources that the JCOC isn’t able to provide in-house can usually be referred out in short order; recently, she’s heard of volunteers helping community members find mental health and substance abuse counseling and employment assistance programs. Regardless of the need, there’s a guiding principle behind how the JCOC serves its guests: no questions are asked, and human-centered help is always offered.

“When you’re in crisis, you’re just trying to survive and get back on your feet and into the community,” said Krishna. “We’re here to help with that. No questions, no guidelines, people can just come and get what they need.”

“The work you do is crucial to us.”

Near the end of 2024, Amber Heaser, one of Waymark’s Community Health Worker Leads, reached out to Krishna with an idea: could Waymark and the JCOC partner to get holiday food baskets to Waymark patients?

“We were able to raise enough money and get enough food for the JCOC to be able to support about 25 of Waymark’s families,” said Krishna. “And we were able to work pretty quickly to make that happen too, which I think just goes to show how invested Waymark is in impacting their community.”

Even before the holiday food basket distribution, members of Waymark’s care team had been helping patients and their families access the JCOC’s resources, added Amber. She credits the JCOC with helping Waymark’s community health workers (CHWs) ensure patients can access healthy meal options and know where to get housing resources.

“CHWs, a lot of times, talk to patients about diet concerns, and it’s hard because a lot of food pantries in the area are limited in terms of the fresh food that comes in,” Amber said. “But JCOC has great partnerships with local stores like BJ’s (a warehouse club retail store chain) that donate fresh produce regularly, so families can come in and get what they need.”

Although the JCOC is a strong presence in Hampton Roads, they are a small staff that relies heavily on volunteers to ensure its community’s needs are met. As the trucks of donated fresh, perishable, and non-perishable food roll in – everything from baked goods to frozen veggies and even meal seasonings – volunteers stand ready to unload the contents, organize the pantry, and assemble pre-made boxes to deliver to community members who may not be able to leave their residence.

“The Virginia Waymark team wanted to have a volunteer event, and I suggested the JCOC because there’s such a need here,” said Amber. “I think it’s important for us to see what goes into all this excellent community work, and helping make it happen is an awesome experience.”

“We’re not a huge staff, so the work you do is crucial to us,” added Krishna. “Being able to partner with Waymark and reach the people you do is so important. We couldn’t do that on our own.”