Chelsea Weeks
CarePortal
BRYAN COUNTY – Church pastors and Oklahoma Human Services social workers, united in serving children and families in crisis, gathered to launch CarePortal in Bryan County. 
“I’m so excited about the launch of Bryan County,” 111Project Regional Manager Jonathan Cox said. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting people in both the Church and DHS with some giant hearts. I eagerly want to see their combined efforts actively change this community.”
CarePortal is a connection tool that creates a fast and effective way for agency partners to connect with local churches and community members who want to help.
“As soon as we became active, there were three requests that were already put up,” Cox said. “So, in this case, those DHS workers were waiting for this thing to be active so they could advocate for those needs.”
The first need active on CarePortal in Bryan County was for an electric stove, hangers, a dresser, diapers, and wipes. Two churches committed to providing the stove and the hangers, which will help strengthen this family and give them easier ways to make home cooked meals together.
Bryan County has 99 children in foster care as of Jan. 1, according to monthly numbers released by the OKDHS.
Cox said the churches in Bryan County have been feeling the weight of the homelessness crisis and they’ve been wrestling with ways to help these families in need. Fifty percent of people who are homeless were touched by the foster care system.
“Foster care is ground zero,” he said. “If we help foster families, we prevent homelessness. If we start to get families together, we can start to bridge that gap. So, you’re starting to prevent that in a different way.”
Churches enrolled on CarePortal in Bryan County include First Baptist Church of Durant, Fusion Bible Church, Overcomer Church, Emmanual Baptist Church Mead, Silo Baptist Church and Western Meadows. Other churches who attended the launch include Calvary Baptist Church, Victory Life, First United Methodist Church of Durant, and First United Methodist Church of Caddo. 
111Project is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission to mobilize the local church so every child has family. The organization’s initial goal is to mobilize 1,000 churches across Oklahoma that can serve at least one family a month on CarePortal and recruit and support a foster family every year.
If 1,000 out of the 6,200 churches in Oklahoma commit to recruit and support one foster family a year, and serve one family a month on CarePortal, the state will move closer to having more than enough help for children and families in crisis.
Bryan is the first county launched in 2023 and is the 55th county launched in total, which is more than halfway to statewide expansion. Cotton County launches Feb. 13 and Blaine County launches Feb. 22.
CarePortal has opened doors for meaningful support from churches to families in need throughout the state. Any churches or individuals interested in learning more or getting involved can visit 111project.org.
