Rescue Mission still seeking location to serve meals

The Merced County Rescue Mission continues to be bumped around in its search for a new location to serve hot meals to the homeless.

The mission announced last month it was seeking a new location to serve the meals in order to be a “good neighbor” to Central Presbyterian Church on Canal Street. The organization hasn’t served hot meals from its Canal Street building since Friday.

The Rescue Mission serves hot meals to the homeless in the morning, when it also hands out sack lunches, and in the evenings. It serves anywhere from 75 to 120 people a day.

Bruce Metcalf, the mission’s CEO, said the mission considered serving the meals from the parking lot of St. Vincent de Paul on Main Street starting Wednesday, but nearby businesses expressed their concerns about attracting more homeless people.

“We’re very anxious to feed people,” Metcalf said, “but the fact that we were planning to relocate these services on Main Street has some people concerned. We want to be good neighbors to the business community so we’re holding back.”

Metcalf noted the Rescue Mission is only two blocks away from Bob Hart Square, the heart of downtown, whereas St. Vincent is four blocks away.

Robert Matsu, owner of Five-Ten Bistro, said the issue is a “tough one.”

“If they do it in downtown, well, I’ve had a constant problem with homeless and vagrancy,” he said.

Matsu, who is the president of the Main Street Association, said the board has not received complaints or formally discussed the issue.

Valerie Dugan, who owns Central Valley Pawn on the same block as St. Vincent, said she hasn’t had a problem with the homeless.

“We see them. They hang out and sometimes go through the trash,” she said. “But we’ve never had a problem.”

Dugan said she’s not opposed to meals being served at St. Vincent as long as there’s no mess.

Before St. Vincent’s operations were scaled back due to a fire, the thrift shop and outreach group previously handed out sack lunches to the homeless a couple of times a week. Now, that only happens on Fridays.

Metcalf said he’s meeting with a church Thursday night and is waiting on the outcome of that meeting to make a decision. He didn’t want to move the meal location twice. The Rescue Mission’s other programs continue to run as usual.

“We keep running into things,” he said. “Life isn’t easy.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Rescue Mission still seeking location to serve meals."