By Ashley Legassic

More than 160 Kamloops residents attended outreach organization’s Thanksgiving dinner

Oct 9, 2018 | 11:32 AM

KAMLOOPS — From young children to elderly folks, people of all demographics relied on The Mustard Seed New Life Community for their Thanksgiving dinner this weekend.

Boris Lesar, director of clinical operations and programs with the organization, says more than 160 people were served dinner at the facility yesterday, Oct. 9.

Lesar says young people, elderly people, families, and people of all different demographics attended the dinner in The Mustard Seed New Life Community’s downtown Kamloops location. He adds that this diverse group paints a picture of Kamloops’s homeless population.

“There were kids, there were older folks, there were families, very young people. All kinds of people were there,” Lesar says. “That’s what’s happening around us and we should be aware of that and do something about it.”

It’s concerning to see the vulnerable demographics of young people and elderly people accessing outreach services, Lesar says, adding that not every person who attended the dinner is homeless, but they could be close.

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“There’s a number of people who are vulnerably housed and they’re just maybe $5 away from losing their housing,” Lesar says. “Anything that we can do to provide them with a nice Thanksgiving dinner and that sense of being welcomed and appreciated as members of our community I think is really good.”

Lesar says plenty of people lended a hand for cooking and serving the dinner, roughly 20 to 30 volunteers. He adds that there were plenty of donations for some items at the dinner, but other things were more limited.

“This is something that absolutely has to be done and we will do whatever it takes and whatever needs to be done in order to make this a great success,” Lesar says. “It was really exciting for me to see how volunteers… gave up their holiday to be with these people who really need help.”

Winter is just around the corner and Lesar says The Mustard Seed New Life Community is needing donations including warm socks, gloves, scarves, toques and any other winter apparel.

by Ashley Legassic

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More than 160 Kamloops residents attended outreach organization’s Thanksgiving dinner

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