Richard Kleban started dropping by the Mile End Mission when he lost his job - and then his family.
"Before, I worked 26 years for one company," said Kleban, whose 33-year marriage collapsed when he went broke. "Two boys, my wife - gone."
Now, the Mile End Mission is a home away from home for Kleban and many like him, who rely on the charity organization at the corner of Bernard and St. Urbain Sts. for food, clothing and a break from their isolation.
"I come here basically because I like to see the people around and I can get food, you know, when I'm broke," said 28-year-old Marijo St. Amour.
"Many people don't have any place else to go. They don't have families. People are alone, people suffering from mental illness, and people suffering the effects of poverty," said Anglican Minister Roslyn MacGregor, who serves as the mission's matriarch.
Charity group Moisson Montreal provides the Mile End Mission with food donations for disadvantaged members of the community, but often there are not many healthy options.
"We would buy more protein foods and more vegetables. We're limited by what we receive and at the moment so much of it is starches and sugars," said MacGregor.
That's why, for the first time ever, the mission is holding a charity dinner to raise funds and awareness for the important cause, so that healthier options can be purchased.
For those who can't attend, donations to the centre are always welcome.
"When you do a good deed or a random act of kindness, you feel better. You feel good about yourself," said of the mission's clients, Victor Leonowicz
The benefit dinner will take place Thursday, Oct. 22 at Auberge Saint-Gabriel, 426 St. Gabriel St., Old Montreal. Tickets are $200. For more information, contact Lori at 514-274-3401.
