PORT ANGELES — Serenity House hosted its 21st annual community Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, the second in its new building on West 18th Street.
“It’s wonderful — much better than the old building. It’s huge,” said longtime volunteer Marian L. Lovell.
“The old building was darker and smaller. The kitchen was smaller, too. This is really nice.”
Serenity House staff worked for two years to build the new shelter for the homeless at 2321 W. 18th St., just two blocks from its former leased space at 2602 W. 18th St.
The 10,000-square-foot, single-story building features 13 dorm rooms and 50 beds.
It also includes two small isolation rooms for people with special medical needs.
100 guests for dinner
Serenity House was expected to host about 100 people for Thursday’s Thanksgiving dinner, which began at 1 p.m. and lasted until 4 p.m., said kitchen coordinator Brad Gierke.
Gierke and assistant kitchen coordinator Greg Deneul began cooking the turkeys on Monday and weren’t done until 5 a.m. Thursday.
Volunteer Vicki Sievert arrived at 9 a.m. to begin setting up the kitchen, and approximately 20 other volunteers arriving about noon.
They would be there “until it’s done,” she said late Thursday afternoon.
