Grilling Out

Hamburgers and hot dogs ruled the menu when the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission held its 11th annual Independence Day barbecue in the parking lot at its newly renovated property on East Yanonali Street.

More than 300 homeless guests enjoyed 560 hamburgers and hotdogs, and 27 pounds of macaroni and potato salad, while quaffing hundreds of cans of soda, provided by the mission’s 71-member strong women’s auxiliary.

Mission president Rolf Geyling, whose sons provided entertainment, says: “The beaches get so crowded that our homeless neighbors, who often spend their days and nights on the sand, are pushed off the shoreline and left with nowhere to go.

“So, eleven years ago, we decided to create a place for them to spend a holiday.”

The mission has provided more than 140,000 meals and 45,000 safe nights of shelter for individuals with no place to turn.