Homeless, widowed and afraid of life on the streets, Salvation Army saves her Thanksgiving
It was the first time in her 55 years on Earth that Barbara Mullin found herself at the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving dinner in the 1200 block of 14th Street West on Thursday.
Her husband died about a year ago in the wake of one of her sisters and her mother suffering fatal overdoses. She was evicted from her home after her husband died and found herself on the streets these past eight months.
“I lost it,” Mullin said. “He was my other half. I’m trying to rebuild who I am. I lost my identity. I loved him very much. He was more than my husband of 30 years, he was my best friend.”
A lifetime of memories and possessions have been reduced to, “I’m lucky I have this stick of lipstick. It’s not safe on these streets, but I’ve snapped out of it and entered the Salvation Army program and they are going to help me get back to my other sister in Boston.”
Mullin couldn’t hold back the tears talking about the loss of her husband. But she brightened quickly when asked if despite all she’s gone through, was there anything she was thankful for on Thanksgiving.
“Oh yeah,” she exclaimed. “I’m grateful for my sister and my friends. I’m grateful to the Salvation Army that is helping me to rebuild myself.”
More than 85 turkeys have been cooking continuously at the Salvation Army over the past two weeks in preparation to serve hundreds of men, women and children a Thanksgiving dinner that included all the fixings, as well as dessert.
All they had to do was come in and have a seat and a small army of volunteers did the rest, bringing them their dinner and catering to their needs. They felt welcome, and if for only a moment in time, it felt a little like home.
That’s why Rich Giradelli wanted to volunteer. He moved to Bradenton from New Jersey about 18 months ago, at long last giving up the snow and cold for the warmth of Florida.
“I told my wife that I was packing up, taking the dog and heading south so if she wanted to come, she better hurry,” Giradelli joked as his wife laughed in the background. “No, seriously, I wanted to do this because we’re new to Florida and this community accepted us with open arms and we just want to give back.”
As prepared as the Salvation Army always is in serving their biggest meals of the year, they got a little extra boost from Mocha Joe’s Cafe, 3633 Cortez Road. Unbeknownst to staff, the owner had already decided to donate to the cause, but not just by dropping off ingredients.
Chef Chris Trapani spent half of Thanksgiving Day cooking up ham dinners with all the fixings, prepared 30 individual meals and dropped them off hot and ready to serve.
Trapani took advantage of the opportunity to have his young son tag along to show him firsthand the struggles people have.
“I wanted to show him that anybody can end up this way and for him to know how fortunate he is,” Trapani said. “These kids today complain about things like one kid’s Playstation is better than the other kid’s. The last thing these people are thinking about is a Playstation. They are thinking about where their next meal is coming from or where they can get a bed for a night.”
Salvation Army Major Juan Guadalupe took over the Bradenton branch in July. Thursday’s dinner, “Is a special one for me,” he said. “We have been blessed with a lot of turkeys and other food.”
Thanks to the community, the Salvation Army collected 375 turkeys for Thanksgiving and another 500 turkeys were donated to hand out to families in need on Wednesday.
The Salvation Army is so much more than daily meals and fulfilling a crucial shelter need in Manatee County. They are an emergency disaster relief organization, offer financial assistance, pay for addiction rehab programs, Bible studies and offer youth programs, as well as making Christmas dreams come true for area children.
For more information on programs, services, how to get involved or donate, call 941-748-5110 or visit salvationarmyflorida.org/manatee-county.
This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 1:41 PM.