The gift of service
Thanksgiving begins a season of reflection, particularly for people who need support services. Those who help bring festivity to their days are a reason to give thanks.
While most people will sit down at tables tonight with family, friends and loved ones, not everybody is that fortunate.
For some, the Thanksgiving holiday will be spent in a shelter, whether they are homeless, fleeing an abusive situation or seeking treatment for an addiction.
But even though they won’t be having a typical Thanksgiving, the staff at these facilities are making sure the residents still have something to be thankful for on the holiday.
Steve Roe, executive director of the Beacon of Hope Men’s Shelter, said every year a Thanksgiving dinner is served to the men at the facility.
“There’s always someone from the community that serves them,” Roe said.
The dinner served includes traditional Thanksgiving foods, such as turkey and stuffing.
Roe said it’s important to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Beacon, even though the men who live there don’t have homes of their own.
“I think the most important thing is that it always shows that people care about them,” he said.
That’s reflected by the fact that the community comes and serves the men.
“We can celebrate Thanksgiving because almost every single male that is served at the Beacon is served by the community,” Roe said. “They have partnered with us in the ministry and become the hands and feet of Jesus when they serve our guys. It does set an example to our guys, the importance of serving.”
“We’re very thankful that we have a community that is so incredibly supportive of what we do,” he added.
At the Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center, which provides shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence, there are actually two Thanksgiving celebrations.
Executive Director Brenda McBride said a potluck with D/SAOC staff and shelter residents was held on Tuesday.
“We had a big, interactive, traditional Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.
And tonight, McBride said the shelter will have another celebration.
“And then on Thanksgiving, there will be all the things needed to make a Thanksgiving dinner for those who are staying in shelter,” McBride said. “And just allowing time with our clients and make a home for the holidays in the manner they are accustomed to.”
D/SAOC provides the food for the shelter’s Thanksgiving.
It’s important for the shelter’s residents to have a traditional Thanksgiving, she added.
“We just try to bring as much normalcy to their environment as they can, and allow them to continue any family traditions that give them more a sense of belonging,” McBride said. “It’s their home. They can enjoy the time with their children here.”
That’s similar to what the YWCA provides to its residents, as well.
“This year, they try to come up with their own traditions, so that we can cook the things that they’re used to getting at home,” Mandi Crouse-Kelley, executive director of the YWCA, said.
There will also be turkey served. Crouse-Kelley said it was donated by Pizza Ranch.
The women at the YWCA came up with shopping lists and those items were bought for the residents.
Crouse-Kelley said it’s important to continue “their traditions, and to make them feel like they’re at home, since they can’t be at home this year.”
“It’s just a good time to step back and be thankful for everything you have.”