For neighbors in need who find themselves on the streets this Christmas, this is the time of the year that hunger and hurting are felt most deeply.

With Thanksgiving around the corner—when hunger and hurt are felt most deeply—and the nighttime temperatures falling, our community’s most vulnerable are in harm’s way. Especially neighbors in need like Hayden…

“When I was about 15, I suffered third-degree burns all over on my hands. I had to undergo lots of surgery, and when you get burns it’s not just a short process of recovery. So, I was on cortisone and other prescription painkillers for a long time. That’s pretty much where it all started…

“I grew up in a functioning but dysfunctional family,” Jonathan says. “Meaning, they all had good jobs and went to work—but every day was a party: at the age of seven, I was introduced to marijuana and beer. By my parents.”

Imagine how it would affect you if you lost your beloved mother . . . on your 22nd birthday . . .  For Jessica, it was the final emotional push that sent her into a downward spiral of depression where she turned to drugs to numb the pain. But her suffering had started years before, in a relationship …