A Visit to Union Gospel Mission

The day I drop into the Union Gospel Mission turns out to be a particularly hectic one. Some of the heightened activity is expected, some is circumstantial. The UGM is busy prepping for its biggest annual event, Christmas dinner, to be held on Dec. 3, just five days away.

“We're hoping to serve about 2,500 to 3,000 meals in a single day. We will have over 100 staff working and close to 200 volunteers,” UGM's Nicole Mucci tells me.

“It's our first time having a Christmas meal back inside since COVID-19 happened, and we're really excited to have that broader sense of community. And with the weather the way it is, we are really happy that people can have somewhere warm where they can come in and just be together, and create community to celebrate the holidays.”

As the preparations continue, the sidewalks outside the building at 601 E. Hastings St. are turning white. Vancouver is getting its first big snow storm of the season.

“For the past two-and-a-half years, UGM had been serving up their meals to go. The Thanksgiving Day holiday in 2022 was the first UGM meal that happened indoors since the pandemic began,” Mucci explains.

“People were so happy to be back inside and just be together. So much has changed over the past few years. So many people have lost their lives or lost loved ones due to the drug poisoning crisis and the SRO fires. There's been so much chaos and upheaval in many people's lives, that being able to come together in moments of celebration can really spark hope.”

The kitchen is downstairs at the Downtown Eastside facility and will be abuzz with activity for the early Christmas feast.

“We have a full team of chefs and then the volunteers — I think we have 198 confirmed volunteers,” Mucci says. “Saturday, everybody will be here bright and early. Our head chef Randy Spark has been at UGM for over 20 years and he still gets excited every time.”

‘A real Christmas experience’

Meanwhile, the inclement weather that would soon be dominating nightly newscasts means all systems go at UGM.

“When we see cold weather like today, we try to make sure we can utilize our 92-bed shelter,” Mucci says. “We make sure that every one of those beds is full. We send our mobile mission rescue vehicles out to connect with folks. If we have the staffing, we like to send our outreach teams to do street walks and connect with folks in the neighbourhood, let them know that there is shelter here, or other shelter spaces and warming centres. We might keep open our Cornerstone Drop-In Centre for longer so people can stay warm. When our shelter is too full, we try to make sure we have toques, mittens and these sacks called bivvy sacks — you can put them on your sleeping bag, and it keeps it dry and traps heat.”

Lately, shelters and drop-in programs at UGM have been consistently full.

“One thing we are worried about heading into the winter is how many people we will have to turn away,” Mucci says. “We want to make sure we have that survival gear on hand because there's just so much need right now.”

That's short-term action. UGM plays the long game too, especially since it opened the Women and Families Recovery and Housing Centre at 616 E. Cordova in January. The centre offers a sanctuary program for single women as well as women with children. There are three floors of housing, plus child care, after-school homework clubs for kids, and courses in cooking and parenting for the mothers — as well as help with going back to school themselves, if that's what they want.

“Research shows that for folks who go through a recovery program, if they are able to live in a recovery-oriented setting for about five years and maintain their recovery… once they hit the five-year mark, they are at the same level [in terms of health and stability] as someone in the general public,” Mucci says.

The Christmas meal is not the only seasonal program the UGM offers. Inflation has meant more families than ever are struggling this year, and Mucci is particularly excited about an initiative called Gifts of Hope. Rather than putting together standard hampers for families, the program offers options with a Christmas Gifts of Hope store, where parents can shop for holiday gifts for their families for free.

“It's a lot more empowering for parents to come in and feel like they have choice and autonomy when picking out Christmas presents,” she says. “So this brilliant team of staffers created Gifts of Hope. We have a space we rent, and we set it up like a shop. Over 300 families are ready to come in for a typical Christmas shopping experience. They have a personal shopper who shows them what's available. We can wrap the items for them or they can take wrapping paper home with them if they'd like. It feels like a real Christmas experience.”

Mucci adds that instead of giving parents what some would envision as a “traditional” Christmas meal, UGM provides gift cards to go grocery shopping.

“Because every family is different,” she says. “Some have food restrictions or allergies, or perhaps they just have different traditions.”

Mucci says the public can go online and sponsor items that are needed for the Gifts of Hope Christmas Hamper Store, noting that there is a long waitlist of parents in need.

‘Connect with people one life at a time’

Since 1940, the UGM has been helping people living with poverty, including those experiencing homelessness, women fleeing violent relationships, single parents, folks who have lost their jobs, people with substance use issues and more.

Services include providing food, shelter and clothing, alcohol and drug recovery, employment counselling, affordable housing, and support for children and families.

And while some might wonder about that middle word in the Union Gospel Mission name and whether that means UGM’s community work is a cover for an ongoing evangelical campaign, Mucci tells me that is not the case at all.

“We've been a part of the Downtown Eastside community for 82 years. Through that time, we have grown to know the people who we serve and what their needs are. And our goal is to connect with people one life at a time,” she says. “It might be poverty, it might be homelessness, it might be addiction. They might be working on reuniting with their children. They might be struggling with understanding the bureaucratic paperwork that goes with replacing stolen ID, or any number of things. Our goal is to walk alongside them, let them decide what journey they're on, and try to assist them meaningfully. No hidden agendas here.”

As the UGM says in its fundraising campaigns, it often all begins with a meal.

Outside the building the snow is coming down harder and the mission trucks are out on the street. Downstairs in the kitchen, it's prepping time.

“They'll be roasting the turkeys on Thursday and making the dressing, cranberry sauce and all of that kind of thing on Friday,” Mucci says. “Everybody's buzzing with excitement.”

If you or someone you know is in need of help, or wants to find out more information about UGM services, it’s all online.

And if you’d like to share via the Union Gospel Mission, here are some ways to do so.