CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Heading Home, Inc., one of the Boston area’s largest agencies devoted to helping the homeless, announced that it received gifts for more than 500 families and 150 individuals through its annual holiday gift drive. Heading Home’s mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston by providing a supported pathway to self-sufficiency that begins with a home, together with critical services such as life skills, financial literacy, and job training.
With assistance from generous donors and volunteers, Heading Home was able to provide meaningful holiday presents for homeless families and individuals served by the organization. This year, Heading Home provided a holiday gift “shop” for its client families. The evening included dinner and childcare while parents picked out gifts for their children. The annual holiday gift drive allows Heading Home to fulfill homeless families’ holiday wishes, providing cheer to families struggling to achieve stability and self-sufficiency.
“The holiday season is an exciting time for many families, but it is also a particularly challenging time for homeless families in Greater Boston that do not have the resources to fulfill their children’s holiday wishes,” said Emily Smaldon, director of development at Heading Home. “We are very grateful to the many donors and volunteers who helped us make the holiday season brighter for the homeless families and individuals we serve.”
Generous donors and volunteers for Heading Home’s holiday gift drive included large corporations, small companies, schools, religious organizations, and caring individuals from the Greater Boston community.
As the recent wave of foreclosures and lack of affordable housing have displaced so many of our neighbors, homelessness has become an unnervingly pressing issue. The numbers are staggering: On any given night, there are more than 7,000 homeless people in Greater Boston, including 3,000 children. Sadly, not since the Great Depression have so many families been homeless. In response, last year Heading Home led the charge against homelessness in Greater Boston, directly helping more than 2,500 of our neighbors find a home and become self-sufficient.