Making A Difference in Your Community : Volunteers Help MEND Lives of Needy

Gina Mirabella knows what it’s like to be penniless--even while driving a Jaguar.

So, she is the last person to hand out judgments while handing out food to the poor in Pacoima.

“I went from rags to riches and back to rags again,� said Mirabella, who runs the emergency food pantry at MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), which provides food, clothing and English-language education, among other services, to the needy.

Each month, as MEND’s food program director, Mirabella oversees the sorting and distribution of hundreds of boxes of food, which are given out through a window at the MEND facility.

She first came to that window several years ago as a recipient, broke and hungry.

Mirabella, 58, is a native of Lithuania whose parents were killed during World War II. After growing up in an orphanage in Europe, she came to the United States on a scholarship and attended Ohio State and Temple universities.

For 17 years, before she found her way to MEND, Mirabella had lived the good life as a real estate broker. She was married, had a Porsche and a Jaguar, a boat and a house in Palos Verdes.

But then she and her husband invested all their assets in a farm in Oregon. They lost everything and soon the couple divorced.

It was then that Mirabella discovered what it was like to have nothing, but still drive an expensive car. She was unable to sell the car because of liens on it.

Homeless, Mirabella returned to the Los Angeles-area to live with friends in the San Fernando Valley. She lost her identification, preventing her from getting a job. She went to MEND for help. Eventually, she started volunteering for the agency during the day while working the graveyard shift as a waitress.

“I don’t think there is any shame in needing help,� said Mirabella, who five years ago, after working as a volunteer for two years, was hired by MEND. She is now back on her feet and has remarried, saying hard times “can happen to anybody.�

Many MEND workers, both volunteers and paid employees, are former recipients of the agency’s services. Others became volunteers after being assigned to MEND to pay off a court-imposed debt of community service.

“I need at least five volunteers daily that could be trained to do certain jobs,� Mirabella said. Volunteers run the distribution window, move and open boxes.

In addition, Mirabella needs drivers with clean records to pick up donated food from local grocery stores. Some current volunteers are teen-agers with summer job training programs who will be going back to school soon.

MEND was created in 1973 by a group of lay parishioners from northeastern San Fernando Valley churches. The food distribution service is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. In July, MEND provided food to 5,670 people.

MEND also needs volunteers to teach English as a second language classes in the fall, said Sister Christian Jones, co-director of the language program. Volunteers now include retired teachers, a real-estate broker, a retired building inspector and a garage mechanic.

“We have a very family-oriented atmosphere,� said Jones, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, who help with the classes.

MEND volunteer teachers also give lessons in subjects other than English, such as banking, real estate, basic health care and how to avoid scams.

The language program has about 20 teachers signed up now and needs at least twice that number for the fall classes. Jones said MEND also needs a volunteer who is familiar with computers.

Prospective volunteers should call (818) 896-0246.

Getting Involved is a weekly listing of volunteering opportunities. Please address prospective listings to Getting Involved, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338.