Turkey served with a side of hope at Rescue Mission’s annual Thanksgiving meal

Despite living in her car with her five kids, 40-year-old Rossana Puente walked into San Diego Rescue Mission’s annual Thanksgiving meal on Saturday afternoon feeling blessed — but also seemingly in need of a hug.

“I said, ‘Is it OK if I hug you?’ Because she looked like she needed comforting,” said Porsche Copeland, a donor engagement officer with San Diego Rescue Mission. “She said that she was tired, and she was so grateful to have this opportunity for her and her kids to have a nice, warm meal. And I said, ‘Sit back, relax. We’re here for you.’ And then I said a little prayer for her.”

Copeland is also connecting Puente with a case manager for short or long-term shelter assistance.

Puente’s situation is a reminder of how Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving meal — a traditional-style feast of turkey, salad, stuffing, potatoes au gratin, coffee and pie — can open the door to the kind of life-changing work that defines the nonprofit’s mission.

Started as a soup kitchen in 1955, San Diego Rescue Mission is focused on the faith-based rehabilitation of homeless individuals and families. The primarily donor-funded nonprofit currently operates a 30-day emergency shelter in National City, as well as a 12-month, residential Christian program at its Elm Street facility in downtown San Diego. Roughly 100 people graduate from the yearlong program, called Mission Academy, each year, said Donnie Dee, San Diego Rescue Mission’s president and CEO.

Three times a year — at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter — the nonprofit returns to its roots and provides a hot meal to those who really need one.

Volunteers started the day at 8 a.m. Saturday, canvassing the neighborhood in the rain and inviting people on the streets and at nearby shelters to stop by for a sit-down meal. The Thanksgiving event also included live music, hot showers, haircuts, pet services, medical care, backpacks with blankets and Bibles, and new shoes, the latter supplied by the Rock Church.

The Elm Street shelter, stocked with 2,600 pounds of food and staffed by around 180 volunteers and employees, was prepared to serve 1,000 people. Rescue Mission also provided transportation to and from the venue.

“It’s more than a meal,” Dee, who greeted every guest at the door, said. “(Daniel Dianda) came for a meal. Now he’s sober, he’s working, he’s housed. He put his whole life back together.”

Dianda, a 57-year-old former meth addict who spent 3.5 years in prison, went to Rescue Mission’s Easter meal in 2023. He was interviewed by staff and later placed into the Mission Academy. There he took classes, received counseling and worked odd jobs. He also used the yearlong period to earn his plumbing certification. After graduating from the program, Dianda was encouraged to apply to be the facility manager at the National City shelter. He got the job.

“It’s the best thing that happened to me. I went from darkness to light,” Dianda said of Mission Academy. “For me, it’s about making that commitment to the Lord, and really giving yourself a chance. Because it’s not easy. But if you get through the tough times, you can make it.”

Puente, the single mother of five, is still struggling. In May, she had to move the family into her car, as she could longer afford to pay both the kids’ medical bills and rent on their Imperial Beach condo. But Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving meal was a bright spot on an otherwise gloomy day.

“I just get an overwhelming sensation of gratitude for God and for all these people, whomever they might be,” Puente said. “My faith gets me through everything because we stepped in the door and that song (Brandon Lake’s, ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’) gets me so much.”