Body and soul fed at mission’s annual dinner
Charity offers free holiday meal and hope to homeless
The Union Gospel Mission’s annual Christmas dinner serves thousands of meals each year. But it also serves to connect with those in need, giving them a familiar place to return when they’re ready to seek help.
Richard Lamarche, 41, entered UGM’s alcohol and drug recovery program after homelessness and despair led him to attempt suicide during Christmas of 2015.
“It was relief almost instantly,” said Richard of the decision to get clean. “There was a glimmer of hope.”
Now approaching his second year of sobriety, Lamarche is a full-time employee of UGM and, on Saturday, he helped to serve 3,000 meals at the same place where he turned his life around. UGM served up over a ton of turkey on Saturday, as well as hundreds of pounds of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and vegetables, not to mention 300 litres of gravy and 600 cherry pies.
“We had a line stretched around the building for much of the day,” said UGM spokesperson Jeremy Hunka. “It was just a really momentous day for a lot of people. We had a couple first-time volunteers in tears because they were amazed at the gratitude of the guests.”
This is UGM’s 77th Christmas meal — they’ve been offering the free holiday dinner ever since the organization began in 1940.
“It’s a really big deal for guests because Christmas is a really hard time for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness or struggling with things like poverty,” said Hunka.
UGM hosts the Christmas dinner early in the month for that reason. As Christmas approaches, despair can be overwhelming. UGM’s hope is that making a connection earlier rather than later will give people the hope they need to get through a difficult season.
“Christmas can be make-or-break for our homeless guests,” said UGM President Bill Mollard in a news release. “This meal could be a turning point for many, like Richard, who will connect to our life-changing supports like addiction recovery or housing. We want them to reclaim Christmas, too.”
Lamarche, who grew up in Vancouver, lived on the streets for about three years. He reached a low point two years ago when he found himself estranged from his family and children, and back on the Downtown Eastside after a period of sobriety.
“In the last 10 years, I had some significant periods of sobriety but I continued to fall backwards,” he said. “Two years ago, I found myself homeless again, living in a shelter down here. I basically had given up. I was tired of trying to fight and to get away from my addictions. I found myself in an extremely depressed and hopeless state.”
In 2015, he was introduced to UGM by another man who had been through the organization’s recovery program. He ate dinner there. Later he would return to seek help.
Two years on, Lamarche has found stability, and even reunited with his family. Now he’s paying it forward, one slice of pie at a time. He said the experience of being in a position to serve others was “emotionally overwhelming.”
“I’m just so thankful and so grateful that I didn’t succeed with my (suicide) attempt. and that I’ve been given another chance at restoration and reconciliation.”
Lamarche encouraged anybody else in a similar position to take a step of faith and seek help — at UGM or even somewhere else.