By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

GREAT Commission Ministries’ resources plunged to just $246 last month as demand for food, shelter, and emergency support continues to rise amid a surging cost of living, founder Bishop Walter Hanchell said yesterday.

The bishop, speaking during a press conference announcing the charity’s inaugural Hope Fest, described a ministry under intense strain — donations down, needs up, and more families slipping into desperation. He said GCM’s finances have been moving “up and down” as the organisation struggles to keep pace with a deepening social crisis.

GCM feeds up to 600 people a day and also provides groceries, shelter, and support for homeless residents. Its work includes a weekly Children’s Club, a substance abuse treatment programme, and daily street outreach.

Bishop Hanchell said the pressure is mounting as more parents arrive with children seeking food and assistance. He described a spike in young men suffering mental and emotional breakdowns, many so disoriented that staff must go out and find them.

“Some of them don't even have enough sense to come here to get a plate of food but we go and we find them and we take them a plate of food every single day,” he said. “We take food to the elderly, to shut-ins. People all over this island get food from Great Commission.”

He said it is no longer unusual to see families living in their vehicles. He recalled cars pulling up “with all the clothes in the back and the children in the backseat,” noting that for some, the vehicle has become their only home.

He gave another recent example of a jobless carpenter who came seeking help; GCM gave him groceries, money, and assistance securing employment.

Bishop Hanchell directly linked this level of hardship to rising desperation across the country, saying food insecurity can push people toward crime.

“People have to steal to eat,” he said. “The cupboard is empty. The children saying, ‘Daddy, I'm hungry’, what can you do? You ain't got no job. You don't get no money. What can you do?”

He said the ministry’s operating expenses now exceed $5,000 a day, requiring 300 pounds of meat daily, even as donations have fallen over the past six months.

“That's like three banquets every single day,” he said. “Some people who come to us, the only meal they get for the day is the food that they eat right here.”

Groceries, he said, are “very expensive,” forcing the organisation to spend thousands of dollars each week just to keep people fed.

Despite the exhaustion and financial strain, Bishop Hanchell said GCM continues its mission because the work is spiritually driven. He noted the ministry would have closed long ago “every time we get down” if not for unexpected help.

“Every time we get down, God just sends a miracle and we're able to get food,” he said. “This don't just happen. It comes with sacrifice from a lot of people with help.”

He urged residents to take the need seriously, saying many Bahamians pass the building daily without realising what is happening inside.

“A lot of people drive past Wulff Road every day, they drive past with their head straight,” he said. “Don't just pass us by. Stop and drop means slow down, stop as you pass, and drop off some money, some grocery or some meat.”