LOS ANGELES — Pastor Troy Vaughn of the Los Angeles Mission is extra thankful this year, as the mission brought back its in-person Thanksgiving meal service after having to modify the event last year.

Once homeless himself, Vaughn is now president and CEO of the LA Mission and recalls when he was lining up for the free meal. Vaughn admitted that when he was on the streets, he had no idea what went into making and serving 4,000 meals in a single day. Now he does.

“It's a lot of work and love that goes into actually providing the services to the people,” Vaughn said.

But the LA Mission is not only about high-profile holiday meals. Vaughn has a vision for helping LA's homeless community, and the Thanksgiving event is an opportunity to open the doors to the community and share some of the planned improvements, one of which is the newly unveiled chapel, where Vaughn addressed the army of volunteers that show up every year to help.

Thanksgiving now has another meaning for Vaughn as well. His mother passed away last Thanksgiving, and Vaughn said he feels a duty to pass along what she taught him.

“To be able to serve in her memory and to really understand how she taught me how to serve and how to give back,” he said. “The power of humankind, the power of us coming together, is what really transforms a community.”

At a time when more than 41,000 individuals are experiencing homelessness in LA, Vaughn said it's important to remind people of the continued and growing need in Skid Row — not only for meals, but also for supportive services.

Miles Young was struggling with addiction only a year and a half ago, and now he's helping to prepare the event’s 4,000 meals. He knows from working in the kitchen how transformative the LA Mission can be.

“I can see it with the guys when they come in,” Young said. “They might be a little moody, a little grumpy. They just came in off the street. As some time goes by, then you start to see it. You can just see it in their face, like how happy they are, how much joy they have. We need more places like this.”

Young has been cooking at the LA Mission for 10 months now, and although he initially sought help at another local mission, he says it was having someone actually show him care that got him here today.

“I felt like no one really cared about me, that I was just kind of discarded from society,” Young said. “[The mission] gave me hope, and like I said, hope starts with a meal.”

Although Vaughn said it's fun to greet all the famous faces that turn out every year, for him, the Thanksgiving event is all about one thing: “I get to meet all the dignitaries and all the great people that come to volunteer, but I'm here to serve.”