However, for the more than 900 adults and children who seek the help of the Women’s Shelter Program of San Luis Obispo County every year, the holidays can be particularly difficult. The lack of a stable home life during the holidays can be especially hard for children, who are often forced to flee their homes when their abused parent leaves the abuser, said Beth Raub, Women’s Shelter Program spokeswoman. The program is seeking food donations for holiday meals — both Thanksgiving and Christmas — and new, unwrapped gifts for Christmas morning, Raub said. Shelter staff will use the donations to put together food and gift baskets, which will then be distributed prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas days to about 100 families the program is serving. When an abused person makes the decision to leave an abuser, she usually has to abandon all personal belongings when fleeing, including household goods such as pots and pans, making it hard to cook a holiday meal, according to the Women’s Shelter. read more

Tags: food, donations, christmas, program, 8212, shelter