DALLAS — Hundreds of homeless men, women and children were treated to new clothes, gifts, food and a night’s stay at the Omni Hotel Christmas Eve.
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The event helped 100 people its first year, 13 years ago. This year, more than 500 people got a red carpet welcome, a night stay and a banquet lunch with the mayor.
"Yes, what we do is fabulous and awesome, but it's something we would like to come and say we had zero people for this event," Meliene Roussell, who helps organize the event, told KDFW.
April Booth, was there with her 15-month-old son. They had been homeless about six months before recently getting an apartment through the help of local groups, according to KDFW.
"People don't understand what it's like to be in our situation, and a lot of it is not choices we made, it's choices that were made for us," she told KDFW. "I lost my job, and with my background, I have a felony, so it's hard for me to get a job. So it was just that, I didn't have the income coming in."
Booth appreciates the help but has one Christmas wish.
“We want compassion,” she said. We don't want to be judged for where we're at or what we're doing. That's all I would hope is for people to have more compassion.”