Upper Room Mission back in business

VERNON – Almost 8 weeks after a devastating flood closed the doors at Vernon’s Upper Room Mission, the facility reopens Monday, Jan. 26.

A pipe burst on the top floor of the soup kitchen on 27 Avenue Dec. 2, setting off the sprinkler system and doing major damage.

“Our first meal will be served at noon,” communications manager Lisa Anderson says in a media release. “Breakfast will still be served at the People Place as we will be setting up our dining room.”

The community made sure none of the hundreds of people the Mission serves went hungry during the closure thanks to donations and the efforts of volunteers.

At first meals were prepared and served in the parking lot, but as the repairs to the building continued the kitchen reopened just before Christmas.

Once the kitchen was back in business, the 300 meals per day for seniors, the disabled, the working poor and the homeless were prepared at the Mission and served across the street at the People Place.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.