Little Sofia, nine years old, longed for Santa Claus to bring her a Barbie doll as a gift for Christmas and her wish was fulfilled, thanks to the directors of the LA Mission and the county supervisor, Hilda Solís.
“Once again, I don’t have money to buy my children a gift or to put something in their Christmas hats,” Concepción González, the mother of Sofia, Angelique and Unique, told La Opinión. “We put the Christmas tree at home, but it is bare, without presents.”
“Ho, Ho Ho, Santa Claus has arrived!” said the girl excitedly, who was overjoyed when supervisor Hilda Solís gave her the doll of her dreams.
Like every year, LA Mission precisely fulfilled the mission of brightening the lives of the most needy people in Los Angeles society, including immigrant families and the thousands of homeless people who sleep on the streets of Skid Row.
“Parents came with their children to receive a hot meal and we, as humans, want to support them and respect the families who have come to celebrate the holidays,” said Supervisor Solis, whose office donated more than $7,000 to purchase food and toys. .
Collaboration and solidarity on Skid Row
Starting at 4:00 am, a contingent of cooks dedicated themselves to preparing thousands of dishes of typical American food, consisting of turkey cutlets, mashed potatoes, asparagus, Hawaiian rolls, crisp apple slices and cranberry dressing, the which were distributed by actors and volunteers.
One of those characters was the American actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 14 years old, (Firestarter, 2022) and who had a recurring role in the seasons of the Canadian series Anne with an-E.
“I’m really excited to serve others,” Ryan Kiera Armstrong told La Opinión. “I’ve never done anything like this, and I love giving back and connecting with people. It is an uplifting experience.”
Founded in 1936, Los Angeles Mission is a nonprofit, privately supported, faith-based organization serving the immediate and long-term needs of disadvantaged and homeless men, women and children. The agency is among the largest providers of homeless services in the United States.
Currently, the vision of the Los Angeles Mission is led by Pastor Troy Vaughn, President and CEO. Thanks to him and his collaborators, they continue the mandate of reaching out to those who are alone and helpless.
“There is a lot of work here and we are really excited to see what happens at LA Mission,” said Pastor Vaughn. “The collaborative project with county authorities will increase stabilization to help the undocumented population and those without permanent housing.”
No money to buy gifts for the children
Precisely, one of those homeless families is that of Luisana Escalona, a Venezuelan woman from Barquisimeto, who is the mother of five children: Carlos, Eudimar, Alexander, Justin and Britanny, who have been living for five months in the LA Mission shelter.
“We are going to spend our Christmas at the shelter,” Luisana told La Opinión. “The only gifts my children will have are the ones they were given here, at the mission.”
The family of Carlos Pérez, a Guatemalan who works in construction, also benefited from the free delivery of toys for his children Maidy, 13 years old, Ximena, 11, Elisa, 8, Caros, 5, and Iván, 1 year old.
“There is not enough money to buy gifts for the children,” Carlos commented. “Everything is very expensive and I can barely afford to pay the $1,300 monthly rent.”
Carlos, originally from Retalhuleu, Guatemala, described that the entire family, including his wife, Josefina López, and their five children live in a one-bedroom apartment in the Westlake district.
“We would like to live in a larger place, but the rents are more than $2,000 a month,” he said, adding that at Christmas they will be gathered as a family, they would say a prayer and raise the baby Jesus, “as we did in my country every December 24.”
For her part, Mrs. Doris Pico, an emigrant from Manta, Ecuador, arrived early to line up on Wall Street, along with her little girls Isabella and Leidy, 3 and 4 years old, respectively.
“I arrived in the United States a year ago and I came because of the economic situation and insecurity in my country,” said Mrs. Pico, who was a seamstress in her country. “For now, I work on whatever comes out, and I’m cleaning houses.”
Although he already lives in the United States, he regrets that it is difficult for him to get a job due to the lack of documents.
On this issue, he considered that the alleged mass deportations that President-elect Donald Trump intends to carry out “are unjust.”
“We come to work, not to steal anything from anyone; We do not come to commit crimes, but we want to get ahead with our children,” said the Ecuadorian woman.
To this, Guatemalan Carlos Pérez added: What am I going to gain if I worry? If I pay attention to it my head is going to hurt. And if not, what is going to happen has to happen. I just try to live well with my family.”
Service and love for those most in need
Among the more than 200 volunteers who participated in the LA Mission Christmas party was Katina Holiday, executive director of the organization Holiday’s Helping Hands, through which she helps marginalized people get on the path to a better life.
“I’m here to give back to the community. We love to give. We love serving and helping those in need and during this holiday season there is no better way to do that than serving a plate of food to people, especially children,” said Katina Holiday.
“All the beautiful things you share are those that God has given you throughout your life,” he added. “Serving those most in need in Los Angeles County makes me feel good. It just fills you with joy, the warm feeling and words can’t describe what it feels like to be able to help someone put a smile on children’s faces, ease someone’s burden and be the hope they’ve probably been longing for. ”.
Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), told Real America News that he found it amazing to see the happy faces of the children when they received their Christmas toys.
“When we all come together and try to help those much less fortunate than us it is very humbling,” McDonnell said. “We need to be able to see the look on people’s faces and the gratitude they feel for very small things, things that we too often take for granted. “We could all do more for each other, and if we could start the new year looking at it with that kind of perspective, we will live in a better place.”
Meanwhile, Teresa Samaniego, vice president of community relations for ABC7, reported that the company donated 500 toys that were collected by 49 organizations related to the Fire Department, through the Spark of Love campaign.