SAN DIEGO — Ramon Gomez was living on the streets for 4 years.
"The rescue mission saved my life," he said.
Now, he is a resident at the San Diego Rescue Mission program. He’s using his barber skills to help give free haircuts to others experiencing homelessness. More than 100 volunteers are giving out free home cooked holiday meals, clothing and backpacks filled with goodies to more than 500 people in need.
"It's amazing and so I wanted to give back and it's a big circle of helping each other out," he said.
15-year-old Chris Garcia is also volunteering with giving free haircuts.
It's all for San Diego Rescue Mission's Community Outreach Day.
"Growing up, I was really poor, and evicted from houses, and close to homelessness. Now I know how that feels, I want to give all that I can now that I have what I have," said Garcia.
President of San Diego Rescue Mission Donnie Dee said he hopes the team can make others feel special this year.
"People that are experiencing homelessness deal with shame. They are walked past. We treat them as zombies and they are humans. Many became homeless while living in San Diego. These are our neighbors. We want to make them feel special. That is what Christmas is all about," Dee said.
The Rescue Mission also has free shower trailers set up. Hundreds of people, like Charles Haun, waited in line for a free shower.
"Feels like heaven on Earth. It means the world to me that this place is helping so many other people that don’t have a place to stay," Haun smiled as he wiped off his feet with a fresh towel.
It's a special day to remind everyone what the holidays are truly about and create high hopes for the future.
"I want to help people in need. It doesn’t take much to make them happy," said Garcia.
"It feels good. I like watching them leave with a smile. They are clean cut and get their shower and I'm probably going to get in line and get haircut myself," laughs Gomez.
"My plan is to be a millionaire by 3030," said Haun.
The San Diego Rescue Mission is privately owned, which means they do not take government funds. If you would like to donate, they will match your gift up to $100,000.
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