KERN COUNTY, Calif. (KERO) — Local outreach groups did their part on Thanksgiving to show those in need that they have a place to go and people who care about them.
The Brundage Lane Navigation Center (BLNC) held a Thanksgiving dinner event where members of Kern County were served warm meals. The meals were cooked by members of the center's culinary arts training program. BLNC recognized Rebecca Gillespie, who saved guests' lives on two separate occasions. In one instance, she provided CPR to a guest after they had turned blue. The homeless shelter is open 365 days a year.
"For most people, Thanksgiving is a big day of celebration, but if you don't have a home and you don't have a family, what's supposed to be a celebration becomes a day of sadness, a day of trauma," said Theo Dues, Regional Director of the Mercy House at BLNC. "So we're trying to fill that gap and be home and be family for our guests."
Dues says the center is home for its residents and that it wants to provide them with a sense of normalcy as they work toward achieving permanent housing.
About a mile northwest at the Mission at Kern County, there was a similar scene.
"We feel this is a very special, special day and we get to celebrate that with our less fortunate neighbors and folks from the community who may not have somewhere to go," said Carlos Baldovinos, Executive Director at the Mission at Kern County. "They're able to join us here on this day."
The Mission's Thanksgiving day celebration was open to the entire community, offering free meals to anyone who needed one. The Mission says it served about 500 meals yesterday, and many people who joined in had been to previous years' meals.
Blessing Corner Ministries was serving up helpings of hope on Thursday as well, providing meals to local residents during its annual Thanksgiving Day Meal Giveaway.
In Delano, Tony's Firehouse Grill hosted its fourth annual Community Thanksgiving Meal Distribution Event. Adventist Health and the Delano school districts teamed up with Tony's to distribute takeout meals to families in need.
