Five volunteers worked diligently in a kitchen in the basement of a church in downtown Bethesda. They scooped chicken, pork chops and mixed vegetables onto plates, and greeted each low-wage worker and homeless person who shuffled in for a mid-day meal.
“Some are homeless, but some are not. Some work,” said Sam Wilson, assistant supervisor for the Bethesda Cares lunch program. “We don’t refuse anybody — if they sign the book, we feed them.”
Wilson has worked for Bethesda Cares for three years and said he enjoys helping people who are less fortunate. In addition to serving food most days of the week, he helps run the clothing donation program on Mondays and Thursdays.
Thirty to 50 people come in for a hot meal on Thursdays and for hot soup, sandwiches and boxed lunches the rest of the week and on Saturdays. The lunch program is run at Church in Bethesda on 5033 Wilson Lane the first two weeks of the month and at a nearby Presbyterian church the rest of the month.
Most of the food is donated. Volunteers make the soup and sandwiches, and Montgomery County Public Schools provide the box lunches. Special meals are cooked for Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, though the lunch program is closed on Christmas.
BETHESDA CARES was founded in 1988 through a partnership between the county and local clergy. Churches in Bethesda donate space where volunteers serve lunch and provide donated clothing for the homeless and needy. The county provides office space and a day shelter in downtown Bethesda where the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless can apply for government aid and receive medical care, substance abuse counseling and job counseling. Bethesda Cares serves more than 20,000 meals per year and records 6,000 office visits per year.
“It’s not a program where people have to come in and fit us,” said Susan Kirk, executive director of Bethesda Cares. “We can fit whoever walks in our door with a range of services — help with a job resume, use of the phone and mail, and help for someone with substance abuse who wants to get treatment.”
The organization also has an eviction prevention program that has helped more than 600 people at risk of becoming homeless by donating emergency funds to cover the cost of overdue utility bills. While many of those in the Bethesda Cares homeless shelter are men, Kirk said that most of those serving in the eviction prevention program are working mothers.
“These are women who are doing everything right but are not making enough money,” she said. “If their child gets sick, they don’t have enough money to cover the emergency and monthly bills.”
MARK VOEGELI of Bethesda regularly receives free meals at the Bethesda Cares lunch program. The 52-year-old grew up in the area and was homeless for 13 years, living in hotels for five years and on the streets for eight years. He now has housing but has found it difficult to find a decent job and climb out of poverty.
“One upswing of Montgomery County is that you’re not going to go hungry,” he said.
Voegeli said that Bethesda Cares provided a permanent address where he could receive mail and apply for social security, food stamps and medical assistance, which was sorely needed because of a severe sinus infection from sleeping outside in the cold and his long-time battle with depression.
However, more resources are needed to help the homeless find jobs and become self-sufficient. He said that Bethesda Cares currently has one phone line for homeless who are looking for jobs, and that potential employers balked when they discovered that his contact number was a homeless shelter.
Voegeli sought to debunk myths about the homeless.
“Most of these people are not stupid and lazy,” he said. “Many have had high-level education and high-level jobs. Some were making $35,000 a year, but in this area, that’s almost poverty level.”
EIGHT TO TEN volunteers serve the food each day at the Bethesda Cares lunch program, including retirees, students and workers on their lunch breaks.
Mary Oliver of Chevy Chase has been volunteering at the Bethesda Cares lunch program twice a week for more than seven years.
“It feels good doing something to help someone who needs help,” she said. “I suspect many wouldn’t have lunch if they weren’t here.”
Jamie Wollard of North Bethesda has been volunteering for the lunch program for two years.
“A lot of the people we serve are workers who have jobs,” she said. “It helps them get a solid meal during the day.”
Gail Smith of Silver Spring has volunteered for three years through Bethesda United Methodist Church. She said that her volunteer work is fulfilling but that it’s disconcerting to see the amount of need in the community.
“Seeing the number of people in need is very upsetting to me,” she said. “We need to do more so that they’re not having to be served in this way. But we’re thankful that there’s something we can do.”