SAN DIEGO -- The brightly colored building that once was home to God's Extended Hand in downtown San Diego is shuttered and slated for demolition, but plans are moving forward to create a new and expanded version of the mission on the site.
The new building may have up to 90 affordable housing units built by Father Joe's Villages while the ground floor will have a kitchen and dining room to feed residents and people on the street, continuing God's Extended Hand's mission of helping those in need.
All of that won't happen for about three years, however. In the meantime, a handful of people from three churches are carrying on the nonprofit's tradition each Wednesday night by preparing meals they distribute downtown.
"Food!" a volunteer with God's Extended Hand called out on a recent Wednesday evening on a downtown street corner. "Dinner! Anyone want food?"
People began to emerge from inside tents along K and 17th streets, eager and thankful as they were handed a cardboard container filled with warm chicken and pasta that had been assembled earlier that night by about 15 people at St. Anthony Antiochian Orthodox Church in Linda Vista.
Patricia Diaz, a volunteer with St. Anthony, said the need on the street has been growing. God's Extended Hand used to seat 110 people and served two meals a day except Sundays and Wednesdays, when breakfast was skipped. Diaz said her church now prepares 200 meals for each outing.
"These people are doing good, coming out here," said Reuben Degato, who has been staying on 17th Street. "I'm grateful they do this. It's a blessing."
Meals and sodas are loaded into a few SUVs and driven downtown each Wednesday night. The first stop is in front of the old God's Extended Hand building on the corner of 16th Street and Island Avenue.
"The food is great," said Justyn Taylor, who was waiting for the volunteers in front of the building. "I've been coming now for a couple of months."
Word about the food distribution is spreading, and Taylor said he heard about it from another homeless man. He had been staying in an encampment near the San Diego River in Mission Valley, but was washed out during the recent rains.
"We didn't think it was going to flood, and we had to abandon ship," he said.
The San Diego Medical Examiner's office did not report starvation as the cause of death of any homeless person in the county over the past year, but people living on the street do go hungry. Several people on Wednesday said they would not have eaten that night if it weren't for what they were given by the volunteers.
"Father Joe's, they only give feedings at noon," said a man who gave his name only as Carlos. "There is no breakfast or dinner."
Carlos said he has a card to receive midday meals from the kitchen at Father Joe's Villages, but he would have gone hungry at night if the volunteers from God's Extended Hand had not stopped by.
Other men around his encampment said they see many people come by on weekends to give food, socks and other items to people on the street, but weekdays can be slim.
"It's amazing how people have such good hearts and do this," said Rick Gomez. "Most people are afraid to come out here."
St. Anthony prepares and delivers foods the first, third and fifth Wednesday of each month, and is one of three Orthodox churches volunteering for God's Extended Hand. Food is prepared at St. Spyridone Greek Orthodox Church on the second Wednesday and at St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church on the fourth Wednesday.
God's Extended Hand had provided meals and sermons seven days a week from the yellow building it occupied on the corner of 16th Street and Island Avenue since 1983, and the mission itself dates back to 1924, when it was founded as the Full Gospel Rescue Mission to help struggling World War I veterans.
The mission fell into crisis last year when city inspectors found numerous code and safety violations in the old building. Repairs were estimated to cost well beyond the $17,000 the organization had in its bank account.
The Rev. Simeon Corona took over as head of the mission's board in 2021, and he likens his position as becoming captain of the Titanic after it struck an iceberg.
These days, however, he sees a bright future for the mission.
In December, God's Extended Hand deeded the building to the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve, or FOCUS, which is leasing the property for a nominal fee to Father Joe's Villages. Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe's Villages, said a request for demolition permits has been submitted to the city, and the building may be razed as early as this spring.
Vargas estimates the project's cost at between $50 million and $60 million, and funding sources still are being identified. The building could have six or seven stories and between 75 and 90 units, including rooms for single people and families.
If all goes well, a ground-breaking could happen in the second quarter of 2024, followed by an 18-month build and a ribbon-cutting by the end of 2025, he said. As for the colorful mosaic surrounding the outside of the building, Vargas said it's unclear whether it can be saved, but there are discussions about possibly replicating it somehow in the new building.
Irene Basdakis, Southern California Director of FOCUS North America, said the ground floor of the new building will contain a kitchen that will prepare meals for residents and for homeless people in the area. Churches in the area also will be invited to speak at the new building.
"If everybody takes a little piece, we can make a difference together," she said about the faith community coming together for the project.
Married couple Gina Megally and Samuel Soliman of St. Demiana have been volunteering with God's Extended Hand for about six years and joined others from St. Anthony's last Wednesday in the food distribution.
"We were sad to see it closing after so many years, but there's a bigger project to be done to serve more people," Soliman said.
"But until this happens, we'll serve everyone here on the street, on every corner," Megally said.
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