Big Helpings of Kindness : Shelters Turn From Their Usual Chores to Dish Up Thanksgiving Meals for the Needy

Dave Marron sat outside the Ventura County Rescue Mission in Oxnard with a big plastic cup of coffee by his side and the warm November sun and a contented smile shining simultaneously on his face. The 49-year-old homeless man had just polished off his second turkey dinner in as many days and had no objection to the repetition in his diet.

“This is a godsend right here,” Marron said, indicating the shelter with a wave of his cigarette.

Marron was one of hundreds of needy and homeless people who found holiday comfort in the form of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie Thursday, as charities and churches throughout Ventura County reached out to the disadvantaged.

In Simi Valley, men and women, who live mostly outdoors near the Arroyo Simi or move from shelter to shelter, spent Thanksgiving Day watching movies on an ancient TV and eating turkey sandwiches at the Samaritan Center on Royal Avenue. The center gives the city’s homeless a place to spend the day, a mailing address, flu shots, job counseling, drug and alcohol outreach and other services.

But on Thursday, the priority was food.

“Everybody better try the cranberry sauce,” ordered Dianne Hooley, the director, as she crossed the room to check Steve Anderson’s blood pressure.

The disabled Vietnam veteran had a stroke two weeks ago and just got out of the hospital Friday. He and his wife Sandy, along with their son Shawn, spent Thanksgiving watching a videotape of “Congo,” joking with volunteers and snacking from a table spread with traditional Thanksgiving fare.

“I’m doing pretty well,” Anderson said. “I’m eating my vegetables.”

The Anderson family usually relies on area churches for shelter. But none were open on Thursday.

“We don’t know where we will sleep tonight,” Anderson said, pausing for a minute to thank Shawn as the little boy brought him a bowl of turkey that had been warmed in a microwave. “But we’ve got a truck we can sleep in.”

As Charles Harman polished off his turkey and trimmings at the Salvation Army Family Service Center in Ventura, he practically bubbled as he described what made this holiday unlike any other. It was the first Thanksgiving in six years that Harman shared with his son Daniel, who has been living in foster-care facilities.

“Being back together with him, I feel really great,” said the 44-year-old Harman, who recently regained custody of his son after a breakup with his wife.

Daniel Harman, a 15-year-old sophomore at Ventura High School, was also glad to be reunited with his dad after a long period of bouncing from foster home to foster home.

“It’s probably the best feeling I’ve had in six years,” said a beaming Daniel. “I am back with my family.”

Salvation Army cooks carved up more than 30 turkeys and mashed more than 150 pounds of potatoes to feed the 200 Ventura County residents who lined up in the noonday sun Thursday for the holiday meal.

“We’re grateful for the meal,” said 31-year-old Daniel Miller, who lives in a school bus with his wife Christina and children Timothy, 4, and Sarah, 1. “We didn’t have any other place to go.”

Back in the Salvation Army’s crowded kitchen, head chef Brigitte Varneau said cooking for a battalion of people on her day off was a way to give thanks for what she has.

“For me, being a Christian is giving back and doing something active,” Varneau said as she ladled steaming mashed potatoes into a huge urn. “It’s not just about going to church once a week.”

At the Rescue Mission in Oxnard, volunteers were on Day 2 of turkey roasting. The mission sponsored a dinner on Wednesday, then turned over the facility to Oxnard’s Tried Stone Church on Thanksgiving for a second free meal.

“I noticed that a lot of groups have their dinners the day before,” said Roosevelt Panthier, a pastor at the church. “So I asked if I could have this place for the day to feed people.”

The people came in droves. By 12:30 p.m., 80 people had already been fed and about 40 more were waiting outside the dining area while volunteers bustled around a steamy kitchen. A steady stream of new arrivals were walking down 6th Street toward the shelter, where doors were open and the smell of turkey filled the air.

Panthier said he had help from both members of his church and the people he works with at Amgen. Employees at Building 25, one of the company’s research and quality-control facilities, donated food, money and their time, he said.

Pols is a Times staff writer and Wahlgren is a correspondent.