The Good Fight After 17 Years Of Tireless Devotion, Don Hutchinson Steps Down As Director Of The House Of Charity

To borrow from the lingo of the ‘90s workplace, House of Charity director Don Hutchinson’s office has lousy ergonomics.

The small, windowless space is cold in the winter, hot in the summer. The fluorescent lights buzz audibly. On his desk sits an old rotary phone. And the aromas that drift in from the lobby - stale tobacco and the sour stench of bad wine and wet clothing - can linger long after one leaves the building.

Not that Hutchinson would complain. For 17 years, this tall, soft-spoken man with a warm, easy laugh has been tireless in his devotion to “the boys,” the seemingly endless stream of homeless people, mostly men, who come six days a week for a hot meal and a place to get out of the weather.

“We’re here to help,” Hutchinson says, in a typical understatement.

But now, after nearly two decades of helping, Hutchinson is ready to call it quits. On Dec. 22, the first day of winter, he plans to walk out the door for the last time.

“I turned 62 in July and I kept reading in the newspaper about people younger than me dying,” he said. “The time has come to say enough is enough.”

Everyone from his colleagues to the “clients” (as Hutchinson and his staff call the homeless who frequent the center) agree that Hutchinson will leave some very large shoes to fill.

“You won’t meet a better guy,” said Nick Nickel, an older man who first came to the House of Charity for help in 1980 and has since become one of the star kitchen volunteers. “He goes out of his way for people.”

Cally DeWitt, the center’s cook, said Hutchinson is great about pitching in to help wherever he’s needed.

“He’ll dive in and do the dishes or help around the kitchen when nobody else shows up,” she said.

Mike Ryan, the administrator of Catholic Charities, the organization that lends support to the House of Charity, calls Hutchinson inspirational.

“He’s a caring, compassionate, consistent man,” Ryan said. “He’s even-tempered and low key, but he’s also firm. I think that’s part of his effectiveness.”

While his title might indicate otherwise, Hutchinson has never been your typical desk jockey.

His day begins shortly before 8, when the House of Charity opens its doors. He turns on the lights and meets with the cook to talk about the lunch menu. A retired Navy cook, Hutchinson plans the meals a week in advance using whatever resources are available to feed between 100 and 180 people each day.

“The people of the Inland Empire have been very generous,” said Hutchinson, reciting a long list of businesses that regularly contribute to the larder.

But some days, the menu needs to be massaged to accommodate a large donation of something that might spoil.

“One day, a truck from Albertsons pulled up with 500 dozen eggs,” said DeWitt.

Needless to say, egg salad sandwiches were a last-minute addition to the menu.

During the morning rush, from 8 until about 10, Hutchinson helps a pair of Jesuit volunteers fulfill any number of requests.

“I usually float, doing whatever’s needed,” he said.

On one recent morning, Hutchinson greeted several regulars by name, asking how they were and taking time to listen to their reply.

“Dan, can I get some toilet paper?” one weathered-looking woman asked.

Another man stopped him after lunch and started rambling about how he’s heading off to Morocco.

“You’re not going to Morocco,” Hutchinson said good-naturedly.

When volunteer drivers are sick or on vacation, Hutchinson fills in, picking up donated food items. He makes runs to the post office, picking up and delivering mail. He goes grocery shopping. He warmly greets people who drop off donations.

Sandwiched into all this activity, Hutchinson does his paperwork and finds time to pen a monthly newsletter and write thank-yous to donors.

“He’s really very polite. He thanks people and is one of the nicest people you’ll ever want to work with,” said Carolu Condon, chair of the House of Charity’s annual Poor Man’s Meal, the center’s biggest fund-raiser.

What’s remarkable is that Hutchinson has been able to maintain his upbeat outlook amid the unrelentingly grim surroundings.

“You don’t get many smiles around here,” he said.

Hutchinson is as surprised as anyone that he stuck with the job as long as he had.

“I didn’t really plan it,” he said.

A Spokane native, whose father was a meat cutter at the old A&K Market and whose mother was a schoolteacher with District 81, Hutchinson enlisted in the Navy during the Korean War. A former boss had told him being a cook was a choice job, so he requested that post.

After retiring from the Navy, he worked at Sacred Heart Hospital, though he longed for something more.

His wife, Barbara, persuaded him to enroll in community college. He eventually graduated with a degree in sociology from Eastern Washington University but quickly learned there were few opportunities for 40-year-old men with no experience.

Hutchinson was a volunteer at Catholic Charities when the director’s job at the House of Charity opened up.

“I asked my wife what she thought, and she said I could do anything for a year,” he said. “Of course, it didn’t work out that way.”

By the end of that first year, the people at Catholic Charities persuaded him to stay.

“The position requires such unique skills,” said Ryan, who has known Hutchinson for 10 years. “I think what endears him to the men is that they can approach him and talk to him, but they know he has boundaries. He will be straight with them and not be judgmental.”

Over the years, he’s broken up fights, physically removed disruptive individuals from the building and called 911 more times than he’d like to count when men have had seizures or spit up blood.

Sometimes, when the noise level rises above the usual din, he’ll go out of his office and sit among “the boys.”

“I’ll see if my presence calms things down,” he said.

Generally, he said, the homeless men who gravitate to the House of Charity like things quiet.

“A major problem here is alcohol,” he said. “These men aren’t having a few drinks after work. These men start drinking in the morning.

“It’s worse at the beginning of the month when people get their checks.

“Some of the men will go to a rehab program, but for most, this is just a way of life. There’s not a lot we can do.”

Asked if he recalled any success stories, Hutchinson remembered five or six men who improved their lives. But considering he’s seen thousands over the years, success stories are “pretty rare,” he conceded.

So, how has he avoided becoming utterly discouraged?

“I go home every night and leave it here,” he said.

He has a small garden and likes to read. He does things with his family.

Yet, in recent years, he’s gotten tired. It’s harder to do everything.

“You have to be sharp to be doing this job,” he said. “Lately, I’ve been feeling like a juggler who’s not catching all the balls.”

Modest about his accomplishments, Hutchinson would like to retire with a minimum of fanfare, though that doesn’t seem likely. A reception has been planned in conjunction with this year’s Poor Man’s Meal.

“I don’t want people to make a fuss,” he said.

Hutchinson’s plans for retirement are modest.

He wants to spend Christmas with his grandchildren and take some genealogy classes. He’s never been to the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge.

Next spring, he plans to hit area lakes in search of trout.

“We’ve been talking about doing it for years,” he said.

And eventually, he said, he’ll probably end up as a volunteer in some social services program.

However, even if he never again gives his time to a worthy cause, Hutchinson can be content in knowing that he truly has had an impact on people’s lives.

“He has made a tremendous difference,” Ryan said. “He not only gave, but he has always respected the dignity of the recipient. That’s just one of his gifts.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: POOR MAN’S MEAL A hearty Italian soup with meatballs from DeCaro’s Little Italy will be on the menu for the 10th annual Poor Man’s Meal, from noon until 2 p.m. Sunday at the House of Charity, 9 W. Main. Proceeds will help benefit the emergency winter services budget at The House of Charity. A farewell reception for director Dan Hutchinson will coincide with this year’s event. Tickets are $10. To order, call 456-7125.