‘It brings tears to my eyes’: Christmas spirit on show as meals, clothing given out on DTES
Posted December 25, 2017 1:57 pm.
Last Updated December 25, 2017 2:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Not everyone is fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas Day filled with food and gifts, but one person is hoping his annual event in Vancouver helps people know they’re not forgotten.
Volunteers at the Hope & Love 4 U event hand out hundreds of meals each Christmas Day, to the less fortunate on the Downtown Eastside.
The event is organized by Alex Watts, who struggled with alcohol abuse earlier in his life but has turned his life around, and is now an outreach worker.
“I know all too well what it’s like to be homeless, what it’s like to be struggling with drugs or alcohol. Or not being loved on Christmas Day, or just being forgotten on Christmas Day, because I’ve been there.”
“It all too reminds me of where I was before. I will never forget where I was, let’s say ten years ago.”
Guests get to pick up bagged lunch, some warm soup and clothes at the event every year.
The goal is to make people who may be feeling a little down on their luck this holiday season know someone is thinking of them, and that they aren’t forgotten.
Guests like Paul, who moved to Vancouver from out east just weeks ago, says he knows what it’s like to go from having a home to being on the streets.
“For the volunteers that care to take time out away from their family and their friends, to think about down here, is truly heartwarming, it brings tears to my eyes.”
And he’s not alone. Frances, is thankful that people are giving back. “It fills my heart with joy, seriously,” she says.
It’s the fourth year the event has been held.
