Amanda Veasy set out to launch an organization to help disadvantaged people in Longview, Texas, about four years ago. However, it appears the local government has other ideas.
Veasy started One Love Longview to serve as a sanctuary for the city’s most vulnerable residents. As executive director, she has helped many people experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, mental health problems, and poverty.
The organization provides a smorgasbord of services, including meals, showers, medical care, and even an accredited high school education program. “We are an all-inclusive, one-stop stop,” she told Townhall.
We tend to serve individuals who are not eligible for services at other local shelters or organizations … The whole goal is to create a very personalized, individualized, one-on-one approach.
One Love Longview was welcomed by the community when it first launched. Veasy recounts expanding to even more locations within its first four years. But things began to change when the organization opened a location in a business district in North Longview.
A prominent business owner in the area allegedly spearheaded an effort against the nonprofit, rallying local officials and other leaders. “He told me that I needed to pick up our operation and move it… and that he wouldn’t stop until we were shut down,” Veasy recounted. […]
— Read More: townhall.com
