![\"Still](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-rescue-mission-003.jpg\")
Still wearing his rain poncho, Clay Hall, 54, sat back and enjoyed a hot Thanksgiving meal at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the San Diego Rescue Mission on Saturday.\u00a0 (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nDespite living in her car with her five kids, 40-year-old Rossana Puente walked into San Diego Rescue Mission\u2019s annual Thanksgiving meal on Saturday afternoon feeling blessed \u2014 but also seemingly in need of a hug.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Is it OK if I hug you?\u2019 Because she looked like she needed comforting,\u201d said Porsche Copeland, a donor engagement officer with San Diego Rescue Mission. \u201cShe 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, \u2018Sit back, relax. We\u2019re here for you.\u2019 And then I said a little prayer for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copeland is also connecting Puente with a case manager for short or long-term shelter assistance.<\/p>\n
Puente\u2019s situation is a reminder of how Rescue Mission\u2019s Thanksgiving meal \u2014 a traditional-style feast of turkey, salad, stuffing, potatoes au gratin, coffee and pie \u2014 can open the door to the kind of life-changing work that defines the nonprofit\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
Still wearing his rain poncho, Clay Hall, 54, sat back and enjoyed a hot Thanksgiving meal at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the San Diego Rescue Mission on Saturday.\u00a0 (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
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\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>\n
Three times a year \u2014 at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter \u2014 the nonprofit returns to its roots and provides a hot meal to those who really need one.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-rescue-mission-001.jpg\")
At the annual Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the San Diego Rescue Mission, Ali Puentes serves vegetables from his plate to his mother, Rossana Puentes, 40. The Puentes family is currently living out of their car. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more than a meal,\u201d Dee, who greeted every guest at the door, said. \u201c(Daniel Dianda) came for a meal. Now he\u2019s sober, he\u2019s working, he\u2019s housed. He put his whole life back together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dianda, a 57-year-old former meth addict who spent 3.5 years in prison, went to Rescue Mission\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best thing that happened to me. I went from darkness to light,\u201d Dianda said of Mission Academy. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about making that commitment to the Lord, and really giving yourself a chance. Because it\u2019s not easy. But if you get through the tough times, you can make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-rescue-mission-002.jpg\")
Rhianna Puentes helps with feeding her younger brother, Nathaniel. The Puentes children, along with their mother, are currently living out of their car.\u00a0 (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
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\u2019 medical bills and rent on their Imperial Beach condo. But Rescue Mission\u2019s Thanksgiving meal was a bright spot on an otherwise gloomy day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just get an overwhelming sensation of gratitude for God and for all these people, whomever they might be,\u201d Puente said. \u201cMy faith gets me through everything because we stepped in the door and that song (Brandon Lake\u2019s, \u2018Hard Fought Hallelujah\u2019) gets me so much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite living in her car with her five kids, 40-year-old Rossana Puente walked into San Diego Rescue Mission\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":382186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,728,3549,7264,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-382185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-sandiego","14":"tag-top-stories-sdut","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115557391017741268","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}