SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - There is a bad combination going on at the Rescue Mission in downtown Salt Lake with record numbers of homeless in need combined with a dramatic drop in cash donations.
Operators of the mission located at 465 S 400 West said they do have enough food for the holiday but they need money to continue to support those with less to be thankful for. "I saw I was destroying lives, besides my own,” said Don Hill, who lived on the streets of Salt Lake City for nearly two years, sleeping behind dumpsters and under freeway overpasses, selling drugs to make money. "I built a little shanty out back and every night, and I was living out of a sleeping bag."
But hill said he found the road to a new life at the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, where he now lives and works to help others who have fallen on hard times. “They are not a bunch of drug addicts and alcoholics, they are people going through really ruff times,” Hill said.
The rescue mission provides clothing, shelter and serves 5 meals a day without any federal funding. Mission Executive Director Chris Croswhite said the bad economy increased the number of needy coming to the mission by 25% this year, at the same time bringing a 22% reduction in cash donations. "Business donations are down significantly where businesses are saying we are hurting financially as a business so they have not been able to support the rescue mission,” Croswhite said.
Volunteers like Irmgrad Zander bring trunk-loads of food to the Rescue Mission every day. But she thinks she gets more than she gives.” They come over there and get everything that they need, meat and everything." Luiz Penna helps cook the food at the mission. Penna lost his job as a construction worker several months ago and now spends his time serving others while he looks for work. “Whatever they want me to do. I have nothing to do right now, the best thing is helping here."
Croswhite said that everyone will eat well at the Rescue Mission on Thanksgiving, but he isn't sure how he will pay the bills in the rest of the year. "We don’t want to turn anyone away so we are just tightening our belt as much as we possibly can,” Croswhite said. It only costs $.97 per meal to feed people at the Rescue Mission thanks to food donations. But the operators of the mission said they can only tighten their belts so much before they get forced to reduce services to the increasing homeless population.
If you want to donate money to the Salt Lake Rescue Mission, go to
http://www.rescuesaltlake.org/.
