Ohio man treats 50 homeless to gourmet dinner

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AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio developer has treated 50 homeless men and women to a four-course
fine-dining experience.JoelTesta decided that instead of presents for his 42nd birthday, he wantedhis
friends and family to donate money to help feed and clothe Akron’shomeless population.Then he decided to
treat 50 homeless people to a gourmet dinner on Sunday in the four-star Akron restaurant that he
co-owns.Dinerswere treated to spinach quiche salad, potato leek soup, braised beefshort ribs and a chocolate
mousse desert. They were then offered secondsand handed takeout bags with leftovers as they left, the Akron
BeaconJournal reported, http://bit.ly/K5Nqfl.As part of their evening,Testa’s daughter’s Girl Scout troop
made the group scarves, and the cityof Akron provided free trolley service to shuttle them to therestaurant,
called d.b.a.Testa said he wants to change the perception people have of the homeless."Generally,
people are afraid of the homeless," he said. "The homeless are not lepers. Homelessness can happen
to anyone."Anestimated 800 people living in Akron are homeless, according toCommunity Support Services,
which serves the mentally ill in SummitCount.Keith Stahl, director of residential services at theagency,
said that people need to feel they deserve to walk into a finerestaurant and be served.Self-worth is the
first step in breaking the grip of homelessness, he said."A lot of the guys lose hope that life can get
better for them," Stahl said. "It’s such a wonderful thing for them to do."___Information
from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.comCopyright 2013 The Associated Press.
All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.

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