Warm meal, warm hearts

CREDIT: Joshua Sawka, Leader-Post
Volunteers take a break near the end of the Souls Harbour annual Easter dinner on Saturday, helping to serve the 450 people who came for the meal catered by Melrose Place North.

Warm meal, warm hearts

Jana G. Pruden
Leader-Post

Volunteers take a break near the end of the Souls Harbour annual Easter dinner on Saturday, helping to serve the 450 people who came for the meal catered by Melrose Place North.

Hundreds of hungry souls flocked to an Easter dinner in North Central Regina on Saturday afternoon looking for food, friendship, and a taste of the holiday they may not have had otherwise.

"It's great for a community. It brings us together, lets us eat, brings a little bit of the Easter tradition to families that can't afford it," said Tara, one of the guests who attended Saturday's community dinner at the Good News Chapel, located in the former Sacred Heart Church.

The meal was provided by the Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and catered by Melrose Place North, and included toys for kids, and gifts for everyone in attendance.

Tara said she went to the event for food, but was also happy to see some friends.

"And meet new ones," she added.

One of those new friends, Kendra, said it was the warmth of the day -- and the warmth of the event -- that brought her out for a holiday dinner.

"I came for a good meal," she said. "I'm wishing for turkey."

But while turkey wasn't on the menu, dinner guests weren't disappointed by a feast that included a meaty rotini, caesar salad, and homemade rice pudding.

Savouring a peppery cream of mushroom soup, two young women said they were enjoying the food and the dinner's festive feel.

As residents of Souls Harbour's intensive LifeChange Program, both Christine and Andrea live in the mission's new furnished suites, and are taking part in programming to help them escape addiction and make positive lifestyle changes.

Andrea, the mother of a young baby, has been in the program for two months; Christine for only a week.

While the LifeChange Program helps the women deal with long-term issues, they say events like Saturday's holiday dinner are a chance to relax.

"You get to meet new people, and you're working on socializing," Christine said, adding the Easter dinner may also raise awareness of some of Souls Harbour's programs.

"It helps people know this place is here for women like us," she said.

After she completes the LifeChange Program, Andrea said she hopes to become a social worker working with street people, since she has lived on the streets herself.

"I think I could talk to them," she said.

Weyburn resident Ron Evans was one of a busload of volunteers who travelled to Regina to help out at Saturday's event.

Evans said he started volunteering for Souls Harbour 14 years ago, and believes holiday meals like the Easter dinner are an important way to show disadvantaged people they aren't alone.

"It's to show that people are thinking about them," he said. "Sometimes people think they're the forgotten ones, but they're not."

Mayor Pat Fiacco and Roughriders defensive line coach Ron Estay also volunteered at the dinner.

Murray Hack, a board member with the Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, said he hoped the dinner would leave those in attendance with more than a full stomach. "It's a way people can feel some love," he said.