Youth Services Of Tulsa Seeks Donations For Halloween Celebration

With Halloween just around the corner, one Tulsa group hopes you'll help with their celebrations.

Youth Services of Tulsa is asking for gently-used costumes and props for their annual Halloween party. They say this holiday means more to them than any other.

The staff at Youth Services of Tulsa is preparing for the annual Halloween party, taking stock of all of their decorations.

It'll be Black Bird Backward's first Halloween with his friends there.

"Been kind of looking forward to it, been looking for me a little costume but I haven't found one yet," he said.

Youth Services gives homeless and needy young people, ages 16 to 24, a place to stay and other basic services.

It helped Black Bird turn his life around.

"They helped me get an apartment, free GED classes,” he said. “They helped me get a job, just go over and hang out with people."

DeJon Knapp runs the program's day shelter, called Street Outreach. She said the young people who go there bond quickly, and Halloween is their favorite day of the year.

Knapp said, "It's a big deal around here. Normally, holidays have a lot of kind of painful memories."

Painful, she said, because holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving are centered on families; and for many of the young people, all they have is each other.

Halloween, though, is different.

"Halloween is a holiday that's all about tricks and treats, getting to dress up and be someone, anyone you want or anything you want, for a day," Knapp said.

That's why Youth Services is asking for your gently-used adult or teenage Halloween costumes, wigs and even face paint.

They'll also take any decorations or props to make the party one to remember.

"It's one of those times of years where we just really get to all be young people, not the heaviness of a lot of those holidays, and just have a good time," said Knapp.

You can drop off any donations at the Youth Services of Tulsa station at 311 South Madison Avenue.