The spirit of Christmas is alive and well at the Union Gospel Mission in New Westminster.
The mission held its Christmas dinner earlier this month, serving up turkey dinner with all the fixings to more than 300 people. In the spirit of giving, an eight-year-old girl decided to forego Christmas gifts this year, and chose to bring a bunch of socks to the Union Gospel Mission.
“She was adamant,” said mission manager Bill Wong. “We weren’t going to stop her.”
The Union Gospel Mission was also grateful for donations from New Westminster firefighters, who recently delivered a load of food other supplies to the mission.
The Union Gospel Mission, located on Clarkson Street in downtown New Westminster, provides services to those in need throughout the year. It serves a full breakfast in the morning, with soup and other food offered later in the morning.
“We are doing between 187 to just over 200 for breakfast,” Wong said. “We are seeing a lot more faces in here.”
The mission attracts folks from New Westminster as well as Surrey, Burnaby and the Tri-Cities. It’s also noticed an increase in the cultural diversity of people coming to the mission compared with the past.
“There is a lot of working poor,” Wong added. “The mental health issue has really increased as well. “
After taking care of folks’ need for nourishment, the mission offers a variety of life skills programs in the afternoon. The mission tries to refer people to the appropriate services to meet their needs.
“We are the first contact,” Wong said. “We can decide how we can help our guests.”
