‘Great day to give back’: Homeless Utahns served Thanksgiving meals, more at Rescue Mission
SALT LAKE CITY — Shortly before gearing up to serve Thanksgiving meals to Salt Lake City’s homeless population, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Wednesday called the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake’s annual banquet a day of hope.
“Every year we come to the Rescue Mission, and we get to serve our homeless friends an incredible Thanksgiving meal. It’s a really great day to give back,” Cox said while passing out plates of food.
Cox and his family have participated in the annual event for the last 12 years, continuing a Utah governor’s Thanksgiving tradition started by former Gov. Jon Huntsman and continued by former Gov. Gary Herbert before Cox took office.
Gov. Spencer Cox serves food at the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the Rescue Mission in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Chris Croswhite, executive director of the Rescue Mission, said 1,500 meals were prepared for the banquet with an expected attendance of 800 to 1,000 people.
In addition to the in-house banquet, the mission deployed shuttle drivers to scour the city’s streets and deliver additional meals to the homeless population.
“Our theme this year is recognizing that we’re blessed. We’re blessed to live in a great state with a great economy and volunteerism. We’re the highest state in the nation for volunteerism,” Croswhite said.
“As we help people who are still living unsheltered lives, and they’re still living in homeless shelters or unsheltered on our streets, our goal is to help them recognize that they, too, can have gratitude in their life. That there’s something to be thankful for, even if it’s the governor serving them a meal, and then that thankfulness in meeting their immediate initial need can be the first steps to a changed life,” he added.
The mission has been changing lives, too.
Croswhite said this year, the mission has been able to place 72 homeless individuals into full-time employment, as well as secure housing for 69 individuals.
April Stevens says a prayer at the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the Rescue Mission in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
“The focus and goal of the Rescue Mission is to restore broken lives and help people toward self-sufficiency,” Croswhite said.
With that focus in mind, Wednesday’s banquet was about more than just a warm meal.
Croswhite said the mission is planning on giving away coats, shoes and warm clothes, and will also offer referrals to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, as well as additional homeless service providers.
Having Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in attendance, Croswhite said, is important for the state to progress in solving its homelessness problem.
Issy Kennedy cuts Shannon Cook’s hair at the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the Rescue Mission in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
“As the governor and lieutenant governor — because they have so regularly volunteered to help our homeless community — when they’re making decisions, it’s not an abstract decision. It is an informed and educated decision from their own personal experiences of volunteering, and that means we have senior leadership in our state who are personally educated and have experiences serving our homeless friends, and they use that experience to make their decisions,” Croswhite said.
He added that the Rescue Mission has daily volunteer opportunities for interested individuals, including its Christmas banquet next month, where it hopes to impact even more lives.
“Every year, the Rescue Mission has people join our inpatient life transformation programs because they came to our Thanksgiving banquet. That’s our ultimate goal. Some of the people in this room today, having a phenomenal Thanksgiving meal, will decide to change their life and come back to us for help. And that’s what we’re doing today,” Crosswhite said.
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