Christmas was looking bleak for Vanessa Dossous and her seven children.
Dossous worked as a caregiver at two group homes. Combined with overtime, there was always enough money to buy Christmas presents for the children.
But now that Dossous was down to one job, she was faced with having to cut back on presents for the children – until she discovered HomeFront and its annual gift distribution program.
“This will make a huge difference,” Dossous said as she picked up the presents at HomeFront’s headquarters in Lawrence Township a few days before Christmas.
“Without HomeFront, I would try my best to provide something. I am a mother and I am not going to disappoint my children,” she said.
Dossous’ seven children are among 1,850 children whose Christmas will be brighter because of HomeFront and its annual holiday gift distribution program. The nonprofit group helps families and individuals who are facing housing insecurity.
“About 1,000 children are typically sponsored through the holiday gift program, but with nearly double the requests, HomeFront is experiencing a record-breaking year,” said Meghan Cubano. She is the director of Development and Advancement for the nonprofit group.
“The need is greater because of inflationary pressure, the increased cost of living and local rent that skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she continued. “Rent has gone up by as much as 40 percent in the Trenton area.”
HomeFront families sign up their children for the holiday gift program. They may ask for two gifts specific to the child’s wish list, Cubano said.
HomeFront then matches children with sponsors in the community. The sponsors go shopping for the items on the children’s wish list, she said.
“It’s a very warm and dignified way of making sure the kids have one or two items that they really wanted and perhaps their parents can’t afford,” Cubano said.
HomeFront CEO Sarah Steward agreed. She said she always looks forward to the holidays at HomeFront because it’s a special time for children who have faced hardships and trauma throughout their lives.
“Gifting joy to children who are experiencing housing insecurity lights up their faces. It also illuminates the true meaning of the holidays, which is a shared humanity that transcends circumstances and embraces the power of hope in every present,” Steward said.