Kenneth Thopsen lived in Florida until Hurricane Irma forced him out. At 45 years old, he journeyed north to Massachusetts — losing his luggage in the process — to stay with family members in the Berkshires.
“I went out there and I didn’t really connect with them,” Thopsen said. Now, he is one of thousands of homeless individuals in Boston. As he began to set up his new life, trying to find housing and health care, he turned to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on Tremont Street, across from Boston Common. “The church here has been a big part of helping me stay off the streets, away from drugs and alcohol,” Thopsen said.
On Thanksgiving Day, Thopsen was one of at least 200 people who came to the church for a holiday lunch. In an e-mail to the Globe, Rev. Tina Rathbone called the event a “topsy-turvy beauty.” MANNA, a ministry focused on the homeless, hosted the event, in partnership with the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center and monks from the Society of Saint John the Evangelist.