VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – About 3,000 tummies were filled at the Union Gospel Mission’s annual Christmas dinner on Saturday.

One diner was Justin from Victoria.

“I just kind of moved over here.  I thought I had a job lined up and that kind of backfired and I’ve just been kind of struggling, working part time here and there,” he says.

He won’t be able to head back home to the Island for the holidays, and that’s why he’s glad to get a hot meal and socialize with others he refers to as his new extended family.

John Oakley is an outreach worker, who used to be sitting at the tables he is now serving. He says he started drinking at 10. His alcoholism carried on into his 50s until one day he met people at the UGM and turned his life around.

“It is such an overwhelming feeling you get when you give back. It’s hard to explain. It’s a feeling that you have to experience,” he insists.

He says the majority of the people at the dinner are struggling with all sorts of addiction.

“People who come are people who are in extreme poverty, isolated, often people are struggling with mental health issues, and addiction. So a good nutritious meal is important,” says UGM president Bill Mollard.

He says the aim of the giant meals, served during major holidays, is to provide folks with a nutritious meal and to introduce them to the centre’s rehab services.

“But it’s also the social environment. It’s that social community that we’re trying to build . It makes for a healthier community to provide opportunities for people to change their lives.”