After suddenly finding himself homeless, 20-year-old Kevin did not know where to turn. So, as any young person would do, he Googled “help for homeless Red Deer” and found People’s Place, an overnight emergency shelter run by the Safe Harbour Society. When he arrived, he discovered Loaves and Fishes (now The Mustard Seed) located in the same building, where he could get additional help and hot meals.
“It was such a relief,” says Kevin. “Without these places to turn to, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”
Mustard Seed Street Level Worker Susan Robinson says she noticed Kevin when he first started coming to the meal program a few months ago.
“He was so depressed, so sad; I felt God wanting me to reach out to him.”
Since then, Susan has taken Kevin under her wing and is helping him find housing. In January, he plans to go to college and has a grant to pay for his courses in culinary arts.
“You have to look at them like they are your own family, because they are,” she says, referring to each and every guest that comes through the doors as someone’s son or daughter, father or mother, brother or sister.
Since opening in July 2016, The Mustard Seed Red Deer has served more than 2,000 meals to men, women and children experiencing poverty and homelessness in Red Deer. An average of 100 people enjoy a hot, healthy mean three times a week.
