Photo: Pine Street Inn (Twitter)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Pine Street Inn in Boston is doing what it can to make Christmas special for hundreds of homeless people.
The organization hosted its annual Christmas Eve celebration on Sunday. Guests were treated to a hot meal (lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and pie), live choral music by Ripples of Hope, and a blessing from Cardinal Seán O'Malley.
"I know that Christmas is a time when people pay attention to it, but homelessness is not just on Dec. 25; it’s every day of the year," O'Malley told WBZ NewsRadio.
According to Shelter Director Josh O'Brien, the need to help the city's homeless is greater than ever.
"We opened our emergency winter warming center in mid-September, so if that gives any indication," O'Brien said. "Usually, it’s mid-November."
"There’s just not enough housing," O'Malley added. "The other problem is we haven’t really, as a society, learned how to deal with people who have mental illness. And we’re not doing enough for people with addictions."
Barbara Trevisan, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, said despite the circumstances, Pine Street Inn is doing what it can to make the holiday as festive as possible.
"It’s tough to be in a place like this for the holidays, and so we do our best," Trevisan said. "Everybody has gotten gifts, and for most of these folks, it’s the only gifts they’re gonna get."
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.
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