A “good hearted” outreach

Lyndy Garrett with Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Candler, left in pink sweater, distributes food and hygiene items at an outreach spearheaded by the church’s Legion of Mary group on Jan. 20, 2024, at the Forest Lakes Park Community Center in the Ocala National Forest. [Photo by Andy Fillmore]

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Posted January 22, 2024 | By Andy Fillmore, andy@ocalagazette.com

Joe Strong truly had the spirit of giving while volunteering in an outreach on Jan. 20 at the Forest Lakes Park Community Center in the Ocala National Forest.

The Legion of Mary Association with Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Candler organized the distribution of food, clothing, blankets and hygiene items donated by the congregation for people in need in the secluded community about 25 miles east of Ocala.

Roxanne Beck, a member of the board of directors of the Forest Lakes Park Community Association, said Strong removed his own boots and gave them to a man in his 30s who walked up to the center shoeless.

“I cried,” Beck said.

Beck said the man might be living in substandard housing—perhaps a vehicle hulk—or possibly is homeless. Beck is involved in bringing food from a local food bank and other outreaches to the community center but said a group of volunteers bringing donated materials and meeting directly with the residents is very unusual.

Eileen Strong, Joe Strong’s wife, president of the Legion of Mary at Immaculate Heart of Mary; Connie Quigley, secretary of the Legion of Mary; and Parish Office Manager Lyndy Garrett spearheaded the organization of the outreach on Saturday.  The Strong’s sons, Joe Jr., Greg and Steve were among the dozen volunteers from the church.

Forest Lakes Park is a community of an estimated 400 people. The Rev. David Houck, CEO of the HELP Agency of the Forest, has aided residents in poverty-stricken areas of the Ocala National Forest, including in Forest Lakes Park, for three decades yet he’s still impressed when other lenders a hand. Houck said the distribution of donated materials to the local residents by an outside volunteer group like Saturday’s outreach is something “never” seen at the center.

Houck holds after school sessions for about 40 kids three times a week at the Forest Lakes Park Community Center, providing meals, help with schoolwork and items such as shoes and bedding. He said Forest Lakes Park started as a hunting camp. The housing in the community has been described as mobile homes, cabins, conventional homes and hulks of old vehicles. Houck said Forest Lakes Park has a “rough past” but has come a long way and people there are “coming together.”

The area is where the remains of two teenagers were found in March of 2023 after they and a third teenager were killed in a shooting and left in secluded parts of East Marion County. The tragedy was called a “shock to the neighborhood” by one resident.

Houck also is CEO of Sozo Kids, a youth advocacy organization that operates Camp Sozo for kids in the Ocala National Forest. The organization is fundraising toward a goal of $850,000 to move the youth uplifting outreach into a facility on 10 acres near the forest area.

Pam Riley has lived near the Forest Lakes Park Community Center since 2007 and said she often reaches out to help fellow residents.

“People come to my house for help (and) there’s a lot of poverty here. Some folks have no vehicle, and we take food to them and some folks like left alone. There are people here without electricity because the houses have unsafe wiring,” she said.

Tables were set outside the community center to allow residents to choose from 504 Meals Ready to Eat, 164 box dinners, 210 cans of pears, more than 600 pounds of water and drinks, and 100 combined men’s and women’s hygiene kits.

Kevin Fisher, president of the Forest Lakes Park Community Association, opened the community center building where IHM Legion of Mary volunteers like Rebecca Rodgers and grandson Andrew, Rosemarie Shelton and Rosemary Poplaski, assisted residents in selecting from 55 blankets, over 100 sweaters and jackets, 80 pairs of socks and assorted jeans, hats and gloves. A steady stream of people visited the center during the outreach and the food and warm clothing—especially with temperatures in the area dipping to freezing—was well received.

Hailey, 20, came to the center with her 1-year-old son Hunter in a stroller. Hailey recently moved in with friends and needed household items. Hunter seemed pleased with his new warm knit cap.

Danny, 52, a local resident for 15 years, said the items he received will be a “big help,” while another resident with a disabled spouse took home food and blankets to help her entire family.

“(This outreach) is a good thing,” Selena said.  She feels there are “good hearted” people in the community.

Volunteer Uriol Cuevas remarked that as a nation we help people in other countries and should also help our own neighbors.

Rodney, a tree worker, has lived in the community since 1996.

“Very good; good people,” he said about the outreach Saturday. “Times (are) hard.”