San Francisco's Glide Memorial Serving More Than Just Homeless On Thanksgiving
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— The economic downturn has prompted a large number of needy people to show up at Bay Area charities on Thanksgiving morning.
Glide Memorial Church at 330 Ellis in San Francisco's Tenderloin District has been feeding people for years and is always busy on the holiday, but according to one volunteer, they expect to serve over 5,000 people this year.
KCBS' Bob Butler Reports:
On an average day the church serves about 2,600 people according to Jean Cooper from Glide.
She noted there's plenty of help on hand and that similar charitable efforts are underway at St. Anthony's Church and the Salvation Army, but that there may be a shift in the demographic that needs help this year.
"It's not just the homeless that are being served this year; there are families and the working poor," Cooper said, adding that it's difficult for people that aren't used to being put in such a position.
"It's scary and you kind of have to walk them through it," she said.
Cooper said it's only going to get worse because budgets are already tight and that it has gotten progressively worse over the last five years.
"You'd think that because of the changes in the economy that we would see more of a focus on safety net services, but it's not there because they're stretched across all types of services in the community that are needed."
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