Orange County church holds weekly relief kit giveaway amid coronavirus emergency

FULLERTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Every Sunday morning, Freedomhouse Church in Fullerton has handed out free emergency relief kits. They started doing so seven weeks ago when people were losing their jobs.

"The line has been overwhelming. We literally have a line of cars a mile down the road, all the way down the blocks going into the neighborhoods," said lead pastor Josiah Silva.

To date, they've given away nearly 2,500 kits full of toilet paper, paper towels, face masks, bread, sanitary wipes and disinfectant soap.

Pastor Silva says it was an idea meant to meet a need in their community, while maintaining their mission of faith.

"We got in contact with local groceries and suppliers and we said 'hey, we're willing to purchase directly, we're gonna be giving these away to people that are in need,'" Silva said.

Thanks to the generosity of his congregation, they're able to bless people week after week. Not just with the bags, but also with prayer.

"A lot of people right now are going through a lot emotionally and we're able to be able to pray for them, love on them and I think it brings such a glimmer of hope to our community knowing that the church and people are there and haven't forgot about their situation," said Silva.

Whether they're complete strangers or part of the family.

"As a church, everyone's been affected in some way financially. Even as a church, but we decided if we're gonna go down, we're gonna go down helping people," he said.

Physically, emotionally and spiritually.

"This too shall pass. No season is ever permanent. It's never winter all the time and it's never summer all the time, and right now we're in a season," Silva said.

Freedomhouse will be out there again on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. It's drive-thru only. There will be one emergency relief kit per car while supplies last. They have run out of kits every week.

Freedomhouse Church is at 464 W. Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton.