For nine years, Cindy Bernardo has brought warm hugs, gentle kisses, and so much more to the St. Vincent de Paul Family Dining Room — a place she describes as far more than a place to eat.

“They’re my heart and soul. This is not a soup kitchen. This is a community center. It’s a place where you come and you get loved, and you get served,” Bernardo said.

The mission at St. Vincent de Paul is to feed, clothe, house, and heal. Every night, volunteers offer guests a choice of two entrees, served restaurant style, with dignity and discretion.

“So that table one doesn’t know that table 10 just got evicted, and everything we do, we try to do with dignity, and we refer to this dining room as eating in elegance,” Bernardo said.

For moms like Danielle Corbin and her son Lakota, the dining room has become something of a second home.

“I always joke that finding this place was like finding the wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Do you know that story? And they go through the closet and they find the magical land,” Corbin said.

Many of the families here rely on the food provided — and also the friendships they’ve formed there.

Corbin said her experiences at St. Vincent de Paul have inspired her to give back.

“I’m actually starting a housing project for single moms because of my experience, and so it’s like I’m, I think, getting to like the other side of like finally being able to help people instead of being the one that always needs help,” Corbin said.