Warm clothes, full bellies, big smiles: Donations make Christmas brighter

Worrying about what gift to buy your mom and putting up the perfect tree is a very different kind of Christmas stress from what hundreds of people across the province face — alone, no home to decorate, no turkey to tuck into. 

In St. John's, several local organizations are working hard to ensure their clients have the support they need during this challenging time of year, relying on donations and volunteers to do so.  

"It means to have people around you who actually care about you during the holiday season, especially if you don't have family, they really treat you very well," Brittania Taylor said about spending Christmas at Choices for Youth. 

Taylor is in the organization's supportive housing program, and she said staff help her do things she's not able to do on her own. 

"If I'm having a bad day they're always there to talk to me, and they really generally care about you," she said. 

• Mentally ill and isolated: From a rural family home to homeless in St. John's

But it's not just the staff at Choices who care about its roughly 200 clients, ranging in age from 16 to 29. 

This week, they got help from local Lions clubs, which cooked a turkey dinner and bought gifts, filling stockings Taylor and the others decorated themselves. 

"[Christmas is] very positive and fun, but it can also be a little bit challenging for a lot of the young people that we serve, especially those who are dealing with mental health struggles," said Angela Picco, communications co-ordinator at Choices for Youth. 

"So at Choices we try to make sure that we're building that community of support, adding extra support where needed, but also giving some semblance of Christmas to the young people we serve."

Picco said family breakdowns, experience with the foster care and criminal justice systems, mental health and addictions issues all make this time of year rough for young people in their programs.

'A bittersweet time'

The Gathering Place on Military Road — which has seen 2,000 guests looking for help getting government services, housing, and hot meals since the spring of 2017 — is buzzing with activity this week as well. 

"I'd be home depressed, suicidal. So since I came here, I feels more happy, more alive," Ron Martin said as he put the finishing touches on a painting for the Christmas art show.

"First time I ever had a paintbrush in my hand, and I feel right proud."

Martin said he's been coming to the outreach centre since the summer, after losing everything and living on the streets because he was injured and couldn't work.  

"I walked in with rags on, and when I left, I walked out like the rich man with the new clothes on and a full belly. And it brings a smile to my face."

Now he has a place to go for socializing, hot meals, and his Christmas dinner. 

• Boy, 6, saves up all year to give to the Gathering Place — 'because it's nice'

"It's a bittersweet time. It's very joyous on the one hand, and we try to ensure that every year we add more activities," said executive director Joanne Thompson.

"But on the other side, you know when you're not connected with family, when Christmas hasn't necessarily been a positive experience for you — mainly through illness, addiction, social isolation, separation from family — it's really quite painful."

Thompson said 90 per cent of the people at the Gathering Place are homeless or precariously housed.

"The person may have a place to sleep — more often than not it's on the floor — they will change that room maybe four times in a month," she said.

"A Christmas tree and lights and the ability to go in your kitchen and prepare a meal, that doesn't exist for most of the guests here."  

• Gathering Place nearing crisis as demand grows for services

The Gathering Place fed 250 people a day over the summer, and it's 350 now, "which is frightening," Thompson said. But they have to meet the need, especially to keep guests healthy during the winter. 

"We know this is where people get the bulk of their food. So if we're not providing nutritious food, that really is part of chronic illness management, they're not eating."

'The community has really been amazing'

Thrive is another non-profit, focused on outreach for people who need it, especially youth. 

Director Angela Crockwell said Thrive has 250 stockings stuffed with personal care items and treats, thanks to the kindness of the community. 

"It has really been kind of humbling to see how much people genuinely do care," Crockwell said. 

"This feels like the most donations and generosity that we've seen in recent history. The community has really been amazing."

Crockwell knows Christmas is a tough time of year for people who are lonely or living in poverty. 

"When you don't have resources and you don't have food in your fridge, let's be honest, those things are really important," she said. 

• Program for homeless youth in downtown St. John's needs new home
• $2.3M from Ottawa to help 'at capacity' program for sex workers

One of the ways Thrive helps over the holidays is through a Christmas store, stocked with donations, so young people can buy gifts for the people they love, "so it's not just a hand out."

"We do it that way because we heard from young people several years ago that they really felt kind of discouraged of not being able to buy their mom or their grandparent or a sibling a gift," said Crockwell.

"To be able to give at least a small token of appreciation to somebody you love this time of year."