Friday, November 26, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

TRADITION OF CHARITY

About 1,500 homeless, poor receive Thanksgiving dinner from group

Malvin Bumgardner feeds his 1-year-old son, Malvin Jr., on Thursday at Catholic Charities' free Thanksgiving dinner. Photo by John Locher. Homeless people crowd the Lied Dining Facility on North Main Street. About 1,500 people attended the dinner. Photo by John Locher. Katherine Rose pours herself a glass of milk as her friend, Ken Hubbs, talks about his efforts to land a job. The two came to Catholic Charities on Thursday for a free plate of turkey, stuffing and cranberries. Photo by John Locher.

Ken Hubbs is struggling to find work. Bad hands keep him from picking up odd jobs, and potential employers are turned off by the address he lists as home: the Salvation Army.

Hubbs has been homeless three weeks, but on Thursday he managed a smile and offered thanks for the meal he received Thanksgiving Day.

"It's nice not to have only beans," said Hubbs, hovering over a plate piled high with turkey, stuffing and cranberries. "If you're homeless in Las Vegas, you're not going to starve, but you're going to eat a lot of beans."

Hubbs was one of about 1,500 homeless or poor people who took advantage of Catholic Charities' free Thanksgiving dinner, a tradition the organization has kept alive for 39 years.

The crowd that typically fills the tables thinned considerably this year; Catholic Charities prepared enough food to feed 2,300.

David Little, manager of the dining room, said the dwindling numbers of diners do not reflect a decreasing homeless population. But it is good news.

It means other charitable organizations are joining in and offering free meals. That provides further evidence that Las Vegas does not live up to its reputation for treating homeless people poorly, Little said.

"Anyone who says homeless people in Las Vegas are hungry are wrong," said Little, 36, who spent several weeks on the street before working his way into a job with Catholic Charities.

"You learn to follow the pack (to places serving food), you learn a routine. Some people learn a whole lot faster than others."

Katherine Rose has the routine down. She settled in next to Hubbs for her fourth Thanksgiving meal in two days.

The two friends expressed hope that next year at this time, they'll be better off and able to give up their seats at charity events.

Rose pulled a purple knit hat over her head and wrapped a peach-colored scarf around her neck, both freebies at the Catholic Charity dinner, and said she was committed to turning her life around.

"We want to make a good life for ourselves. We want to get it together and get the good life everyone else is having," Rose, 52, said. "People think we're bad; we're not bad. We're just like you guys, but we have to come here to eat turkey."

Not everyone who could afford to buy a turkey and settle in for a family dinner did so Thursday. Sallee Warren had a different agenda for her family.

She, her husband, Troy, and 13-year-old daughter Alexxa, spent their Thanksgiving afternoon seating diners such as Rose and Hubbs, making sure they had enough food and the right beverage.

For the first time, Warren's family did away with traditional turkey day dinner to help with the Catholic Charities' Thanksgiving dinner. They joined about 180 other volunteers at the dinner.

"It's something my family will do again," Sallee Warren said. "We want to become more giving."

The experience made Thanksgiving more fulfilling and served as a lesson, she said. Next time she drives by a collection of homeless people huddled on a street corner, the thoughts that go through her mind will differ from the thoughts she had before Thursday.

"I used to look at them and say, 'Ugh, homeless,' " she said. "I'll never look at homeless the way I did before. These people are warm; they're hugging me and thanking me. Today, I realized they're people too."