CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As the calendar approaches November, the chance for colder weather increases.
It also means those living on the street will need extra protection from the elements.
The numbers are staggering. Some 7,000 thousand people annually coming into to Metro Ministries for help. And this time of year, when temperatures starting to drop, many of them come for jackets and blankets.
“Metro Ministries has always provided free jackets, coats, hoodies, any type of warm weather gear,” said Christina Griffith, Metro Ministries development director.
All of these items are received by donation.
Unfortunately, so far, they do not have any jackets to give.
And for those on the streets, asking for help can be a hard thing to do.
"It's humiliating, it's degrading, it is so...,” said Janel Luckey. “We’re not dogs. We're human beings who have fallen on a hard time."
That's why Metro Ministries work so hard to treat the homeless with compassion.
“We just see that look in their face of relief that you've given them a moment of their dignity back,” Griffith said.
For some like Luckey who was homeless for nine years, living in the cold can be what triggers them to make a permanent change.
"I had to have a life and this is not it,” Luckey said. “It was 20-degree weather and I was sleeping under a bridge."
Metro Ministries is now asking anyone who has extra jackets or blankets to please donate, as they prepare for the next cold front.
If you would like to donate to the Good Samaritan Rescue Missionor Metro Ministries, check out their websites.
