OCR Text |
Show Homeless haven Substance men for abuse recovery program by by Hungry Hearts Campaign by Laura Reeves Too many people just talk about the hunger problem, so Little Caesars sat down with us and we decided to do something productive, said Ken Bell, promotion director for KCPX 99 FM. We are the only agency in Salt Lake City that provides meals. for the homeless every day of the week, said Ed Carnell. executive director of the Rescue Mission at 463 S. Myriam Hernandez Gary Sargent knows how to take the first step because hes been there before. He is the Alcohol and Drug Abuse assistant of a program sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul. The program first started with the transient population. They carpe in to talk first, then they got interested, said Sargent. Once they decided to get help, Sargent would give the transient support and let them know that it is not a hopeless cause to get cured. Sargent talks from experience. He was an alocholic for 20 years and now he is recovering. 1 know what it feels like to hit the bottom, he said. You feel a lack of and it works circles. in lose a job, First always you then a house, finally a wife. When you get a little better, you go back to the bottle. Then you start all over again. According to Sargent, most of the homeless people in Utah are in need because of drugs and alcohol abuse. You just have to look at the statistics, he said. Sargent decided to help others because he became tired of hitting the dead end. You can lose so many jobs and so many houses until realize that there must be something wrong with you, not with the bottle you are holding in your hand. This hits especially after losing jobs managing sporting goods stores and General Food Stores, like I did, said Sargent. Sargent feels that the job he does by helping others also helps bis own needs. In a way its kind of selfish on my part, but I also do it because I care, he said. It is important to have a good support system, said Sargent. Otherwise, a person wont make it. self-respe- We live in such an advanced society its easy to think we dont have a hunger problem. But we do, right here in Utah, said Bruce for the Palenske, the operations state franchise holder of Little Caesars Pizza. vice-preside- nt To counter this statewide hunger problem, Little Caesars Pizza, in a joint effort with KUTV Channel Two and KCPX 99 FM is conit project ducting Hungry Hearts, a for food the second to collect for. the needy, ; year. Last year Utah citizens'donated 10 tons, or 20.000 pounds, of canned goods through the Hungry Hearts program, which far exceeded the goal of 12,000 pounds. All of the food was delivered to needy families and food pantries by selected Boy Scout troops in the area. non-prof- ' Ten tons of canned good is a lot of food. But, every day, 3,300 pounds' of food are delivered to local pantries by the Salt Lake Community Services Council. And still, many Utahns go hungry, Palenske said. The campaign, which began Nov. 28 and will run through Dec. 19, has a set goal to collect 25.000 pounds of food this year. Hungry Hearts Tood donations will be accepted at any of the 23 Utah Little Ceasars locations. Food should be .canned items only, as perishable food cannot be accepted due to storage problems. Palenske assures food donors that all col- ct 400 W. Not only do they serve every day, but unlike other programs, they also provide more than one meal a day. Both breakfast and dinner are available each day except on Sundays, when all three jneals are prepared. Approximately 300 meals are served every day without much change in numbers regardless of the day of the week or whether its a holiday season or not. The Rescue Mission is unique from other shelter programs in yet another way. Before eating an evening meal, transients are required to attend a chapel service which is conducted by local evangelical Christian churches and the Rescue Mission staff. Although the mission is sometimes criticized for this practice, Cornell said, We dont compromise our convictions. He believes the real answer to transients problems lies not in food and lodging alone, but in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore, presenting the Gospel to everyone that comes through the Rescue Mis-- . sion door is of utmost importance to the staff. The Rescue Mission has no public or government funding. They do receive USD A products, but other than that, all food and money is donated by individuals, supermarkets, churches and companies who appreciate what the mission is doing. It takes a lot of food to make over 130,000 meals, such as the Rescue Mission did last year, in addition to handing out food boxes to transients in need. Yet, the monthly grocery bill for the Rescue Mission is only about $75. Carnell credits not only the donors for this statistic, but also good management of funds, careful meal planning and suitable personnel for the tasks. Advertising the missions needs for both Twice a day money and food is very low-kemission is the about a program Alradio station. Christian a on aired KBBX, to mailed are bulletins month 5,500 so, each in an indicated have interest who people mission. the and supporting knowing about Other than that, Carnell said, We pray a y. te lected food and money is given to needy families here in Utah. Also, according to Bell, the food from each Little Caesars store stays in that locale. For example, the food donated to the Sandy stores, stays in Sandy, said Bell. Appealing to a general love for pizza, Little Caesars offers a reward for every individual who donates food. Each donor will receive a free order of Litle Caesars Crazy Bread. Nicholas & Company Food Service Distributors will donate trucks with which to store and haul the food. KCPX 99 FM is also donating the lot. Many needs are taken care of besides hunger. Rescue Mission has enough rooms to lodge 75 men, who are allowed to stay five consecutive nights every 30 days. Showers, a change of clean clothes, smoke-fre- e atmosphere, and night watchmen for security are provided. Pottery sale benefit broacasts air time advertising and for this cause. At the end of the campaign, selected area Boy Scout troops will deliver the food to the families and pantries. As an added incentive, each troop participating will receive $50 and a free Little Caesars Pizza party. by Ginny Gale wares available at the Pottery sale. Money from pottery sold on this table was donated to the homeless. Special Christmas Issue Karen Chamholm Each 1987 .fall semester pottery student at Westminster donated pottery to the Dec. 1 and 2 sale in Shaw Center to benefit the homeless of the city. Proceeds from the sale of the pottery are being used to buy specified items for those in need and will be delivered to the mayors office for distribution. The event was a great success and the pottery department wishes to thank all those students involved for caring enough to donate their artwork. Thanks also to the Westminster faculty, students, staff and friends for being supportive by purchasing items at the sale. Rescue Mission provides three meals a day, rooms for men, and spiritual encouragement for needy. Even for transients not able to stay overnight, the mission has available for them a day room and restrooms. A room is also provided to check transients belongings for safe keeping. Approximately 20 men, who came to the mission at one time as transients, are involved in a spiritual training program. They help cook, clean, and do other chores along with attending Bible studies. There is no time limit to this program, and these men are allowed to stay as long as they are showing spiritual growth. Ed and his wife, Shirley, have been jn charge of the Salt Lake City Rescue Mission for over four years now and have been in- volved in mission work since 1954. On Nov. 2 they opened Rescue Haven at 1165 South State Street to house women and children in need. The problems encountered Jielping the homeless at the Rescue Mission and Rescue Haven go far beyond food and lodging. If theres ever a job where you need to be all things to all people, its Rescue Mission work, Carnell said. You never know what youll be dealing with." Recently, there has been a lot of news coverage about the increase of homeless in Utah, which is blamed mostly on the economy and unemployment. Carnell questions whether there is actually an increase in the number of homeless yet, but believes it will indeed increase if more and more provisions are made beyond the actual needs. The homeless will flock to areas where there is the most help available for them. Carnell also disagrees with the belief that unemployment is the cause of homelessness. He said this may be true for homeless families, but not for single people. There was a high percentage of unemployment years ago when I started working in missions, but you didnt see so many young single men homeless as you do today, Carnell said. The three main reasons for homelessness are alcohol, narcotics and mental problems. Those are the issues that need to be addressed." Churches are being asked to help support payments for a new permanent shelter in Salt Lake City. It is more important for churches to fund projects that give out the Gospel rather than give out money to agencies that only provide for physical and material needs of the homeless, said Carnell. As long as Ed and Shirley are in charge, giving out the Gospel will be the basic policy of the Rescue Mission. Forum 7 |