Light of Life feeding hundreds of families in need Easter weekend

Pittsburgh (KDKA) – The Gentle of Life Rescue Mission is offering about 1,000 free meals to Pittsburgh households in want this Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

It is a bittersweet day for dozens of volunteers as a result of it is the final time they’ll package deal meals on the mission’s North Avenue location as a result of they’re increasing to serve much more folks quickly.

It is a true labor of affection to ensure households in want aren’t forgotten on Easter weekend.

“It is one thing that’s exhausting to clarify till you’ve got accomplished it, however anybody has not volunteered, I extremely suggest it,” mentioned Carol Bires, a Gentle of Life volunteer.

Volunteers pre-packaged meals on the morning of Good Friday then they delivered the meals to folks dwelling in 14 high-rises in Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

“All of us really feel very blessed that we are able to do it and simply seeing the grins on folks’s faces after we arrive is nice,” Bires mentioned.

Their Good Friday will finish with a heat dinner and repair on the mission’s shelter on Voeghtly Avenue from 2:30-6:00 p.m. and they’re going to additionally serve dinner for Easter Sunday beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Annie Cairns, senior advertising and marketing and communications supervisor for Gentle of Life, mentioned 1 in 7 people in southwestern Pennsylvania are meals insecure. She mentioned the statistics come from Pittsburgh Neighborhood Meals Financial institution.

Greater than 1,000 folks will obtain a free meal over your complete Easter weekend. Cairns mentioned it is all because of donors and their greater than 100 volunteers.

“With out our donors we would not be capable to make any of this occur so our donations that are available in go in direction of throughout our meals and naturally, with out our trustworthy volunteers we would not be capable to do what we’re doing at the moment right here in any respect,” Cairns mentioned.

“When you stroll via these doorways, you may by no means be the identical. I believe everybody one among our volunteers feels that means each time we accomplish that,” Bires mentioned.

They will not make any extra reminiscences getting ready and packaging meals within the small kitchen within the North Avenue location. However they’re going to have more room when Gentle of Life opens its new constructing on Ridge Avenue early this summer season.

“Since we have been right here for 50 years, we have watched so many lives simply remodeled all through the years and though we’re shifting into our new constructing ridge restoration place which can be residence to all our long-term programming, it is only a bittersweet second the place we watch this constructing shut and we make new reminiscences some place else,” Cairns mentioned.

She mentioned the variety of folks they assist who’re experiencing homelessness continues to be growing.

Cairns mentioned one of many mission’s major targets is to not solely get folks off the road, however to assist them with long-term life transformation to get them out of homelessness.

They imagine hope can begin with a meal.

“Our companies have clearly elevated and for us shifting into our new constructing early Summer time, we hope it’s going to fight a few of the homeless improve we have seen in our metropolis,” mentioned Cairns.

Cairns shared some statistics with KDKA. She mentioned girls and youngsters are thought of the quickest rising homeless inhabitants.

Out of the folks experiencing homelessness recognized in Winter of 2022 in Allegheny County, about 37 p.c have been girls and about 20 p.c have been kids, in line with Allegheny County Division of Human Providers. 

2,836 Homeless Youngsters in Allegheny County reported for the 2021-2022 College Yr, in line with the Homeless Youngsters’s Schooling Fund (HCEF).

In 2022, Gentle of Life served 3,000+ distinctive friends, served 500,000+ meals between their kitchen and meals pantry, they usually supplied 7,533 whole emergency shelter mattress nights.