Our history

We believe that no one should go hungry. As a nonprofit organization, our mission is simple yet urgent: to provide warm, nutritious meals and personal hygiene items to those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. We serve with compassion, dignity, and the unwavering belief that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and cared for. Since our founding, we’ve worked hand-in-hand with volunteers, churches, local businesses, and community members to deliver hot meals, distribute essential supplies, and offer hope where it’s needed most. Whether it’s under a city bridge, in a shelter, or on a street corner — we show up. But we don’t stop at food. We aim to build relationships, restore dignity, and connect individuals with resources for housing, employment, and recovery. Every plate we serve is a step toward healing and hope. Join us in being the hands and feet of love. Together, we can feed bodies and nourish souls — one meal at a time.

Maria is the founder of the Refuge Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to feeding the homeless and providing them with personal hygiene products that have been donated by local sponsors. With a deep passion for giving back to the heart of the community. Maria established the organization from a vision given to her.  Striving to establish and create lasting change through passion for the less fortunate of Bawcomville and the surrounding areas.  

Driven by personal experience and years of involvement in community outreach, Maria brings a unique blend of empathy, leadership, and hands-on knowledge to the nonprofit sector. She believes that every individual deserves access to food, education, shelter, healing, and opportunity, and is committed to building programs that meet people where they are.

Stacie Lynn Shaw 

Driven by a God-given burden to serve the broken and bring healing to the hurting, Stacie helped launch The Refuge Center—a place where lives are restored through the love of Christ.

With passion for the outcast and a calling to meet both physical and spiritual needs, she believes transformation happens one life at a time—through hope, dignity, and the Gospel. Rooted in Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25, her mission is to be the hands and feet of Jesus—offering not just meals or shelter, but prayer, purpose, and a path forward.

But this mission is personal.

Stacie knows what it’s like to be lost and without hope. Once bound by addiction, alone, and living on the streets, she hit rock bottom—burned bridges, lost her family, and saw no way out. After many failed attempts to fix it herself, she surrendered to God—and everything changed.

Now, three years sober and with her family restored, she returns to those same streets this time with hope in her hands and Jesus in her heart.

When she’s not serving in the community, Stacie loves spending time with her husband, their three children, and her sweet grandbaby. She’s an active member of her church and finds joy in serving wherever there’s a need—a true reflection of God’s grace at work in every area of her life.

Whether she’s organizing outreach, praying with someone in need, or simply listening, she carries one message:

No one is too far gone for God’s grace.

Gabrielle Lewis

Born and raised in North Louisiana, Gabrielle was brought up by a devoted single mother who instilled in her the deep value of caring for others. From an early age, she was taught to serve with compassion, humility, and a heart attuned to the needs of those around her.

Gabrielle carries a God-given burden for the lost and broken. Her heart beats for families in crisis, for children who have suffered abuse, and for the healing and restoration of adults still affected by childhood trauma. She believes in the redemptive power of God’s love to heal even the deepest wounds.

With a special love for the homeless and marginalized, Gabrielle lives to feed not just the hungry stomach, but the hungry soul, offering not only physical nourishment, but also the Bread of Life and Living Water found in Jesus Christ. She moves in a gift of encouragement, ministering peace, love, and prayer to those in need, always pointing back to the One who brings true hope and healing.