East LA native spreads holiday cheer at local emergency homeless family shelter
Christy Gomez, an East LA native, started helping local homeless families eight years ago when she started her unofficial organization called Proyecto Happy Hearts.
BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The pandemic isn't making the holidays any easier this year.
But East Los Angeles native, Christy Gomez, has been trying to make a difference for homeless families this holiday season at the emergency shelter Comunidad Cesar Chavez in Boyle Heights.
Gomez organized a drive-by blanket drive, which she calls the Linus Movement-a name she got from Charlie Brown.
"Linus Movement is a collection of new and gently used blankets for families that are entering the transitional living shelter there," said Gomez. "I also added socks because socks are definitely a very important necessity."
Gomez started helping these families eight years ago.
This year, she partnered up with the owner of Capuyo Café, who hosted the blanket drive.
"I feel like people were even more giving this season because the pandemic has made people, I guess, open their eyes to the fact that things can be so much worse and we are so blessed," said Gomez.
Gomez wanted to give back to those in need because she witnessed how hard it was for her single father when she was growing up.
"Also, the fact that I later became a single mother... and lived check to check. And it was really tough. Sometimes we just had rice and beans for the entire week," said Gomez.
Now that Gomez is in a better place, she wants to pay it forward for all of the people who helped her and her father. She filled up the community room at the housing site with blankets and other goods.
"It's become my place for my labor of love," said Gomez. "I'm just extremely grateful to everyone who entrusts me with whether it be financial donations [or] physical contributions."
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