The Union Gospel Mission is serving up its 72nd annual Christmas dinner to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Glenn Golding graduated from a UGM rehab program after struggling with addiction, and says events like these could help others in a tough spot.
“It’s all about hope, right? When you have hope given back to you there’s an opportunity. And life’s about choices. I’ve made a lot of bad choices in my life, but now, you know, they’re getting better.”
Another treatment graduate, Frederick Pineault, says the dinner is more than a meal – it gives those down and out a sense of community.
“There’s no barriers today. It’s like we’re all just human beings, there’s no ‘You’re a street person, I’m like, say, a doctor or lawyer. There’s none of that. I’m a human being, you are one and we are both on the same page.”
The mission anticipates it will serve around 3,000 dinners.
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