Updated: Sun Oct. 11 2009 20:36:04

ctvbc.ca

Sally and Mitchell Stevens busily prepared Thanksgiving dinners for 200 people at the Empress Hotel in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Sunday.

But unlike other volunteers, who serve some dinners and go home, this newlywed couple was at home.

The Stevens, who are both 20 and from Australia, are part of the Salvation Army's one-year War College program that immerses students in the Downtown Eastside.

"You can call us crazy but that's alright. This is what God has called us to do," Sally Stevens told CTV News on Sunday.

"This is what we choose to do -- to be able to relate better to our people."

Instead of serving turkey dinners at the Sally Ann, they planned to serve the dinners on the bottom floor of the Empress.

Chantelle Adams, who lives at the Empress, said she appreciated what they were doing.

"I don't like standing in food lineups. It makes me feel like I need help. I don't know. It's hard for me to explain," she said.

Sally and Mitchell Stevens said living in the Downtown Eastside can be challenging at times.

Their accommodations consist of a bed and a sink -- though a fridge is on its way.

The couple say people have stolen from them and have taken advantage of them.

"But we blame the addiction. Not the person," Sally Stevens said.

Bad things happen, "but the people are generally nice to us," Mitchell Stevens said.

"We're trying to bring out our love to them and to show that we care."