Costume Donations Save Halloween For McKinney Homeless Shelter
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MCKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) - With Halloween around the corner, a lot of kids already have their costumes picked out and ready. But for homeless families at McKinney's Samaritan Inn, Halloween depends on the kindness of strangers.
After a month at the Samaritan Inn, some things are getting back to normal for one mom of two; seeing her daughter smile is one less worry.
"She's excited about everything, yeah," the mother said.
Children make up a third of the homeless staying at the shelter. Until recently it wasn't clear if 6-year-old Abby would have a costume.
"It's a witch, and it's a kitty, but the kitty is just wearing a hat and wearing a witch dress," Abby said describing her new costume.
It took her brother, 8-year-old Marcus a little longer to find his choice.
"I am Superman Astronaut," Marcus said after deciding on a NASA uniform.
A costume may seem like a small thing, but giving children the chance to have a normal holiday is a top goal at the shelter.
"To make life as normal as possible for the individual who is experiencing homelessness," Samaritan Inn CEO Rick Crocker said.
But this year Halloween was beginning to look scary for all the wrong reasons.
"Usually this time of year we begin to see the Halloween costumes come in for our celebration of Halloween each year, and we noticed this week that they weren't coming in as typically would happen," Crocker said.
An urgent plea on Facebook led to hundreds of shares in less than 24 hours.
"Immediately upon posting the response started to pour in. We're very grateful for that support," Crocker said.
"It's good to know that people are thinking about other people. You know when you're in need, so I'm very appreciative of it," Marcus and Abby's mom said.
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