LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The 29th Annual Faith and Community Thanksgiving Day Meal Kicked off at 4:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving afternoon at the Catholic Action Center. CAC, community volunteers and local Knights of Columbus formed a partnership offering free meals through a drive-through celebration.
"We know there's a need," Sonya Hodge said.
Hodge and her family make this CAC initiative a big part of their Thanksgiving.
"I have three daughters in college, so when everybody comes home this is how we like to spend our Thanksgiving. We do an early Thanksgiving with our families, so that we can come here and volunteer," Hodge noted.
One by one, volunteers meet people arriving on foot, on bikes, and in their cars.
"They're all part of our community," Ginny Ramsey, CAC Co-Founder and Director, said.
Ramsey and other members of CAC have organized this drive-through Thanksgiving meal program as a critical service to the community, and her staff doesn't just provide meals at Catholic Action Center.
"Shelter programs, whether it's give kids a home, the shelter program in the other motels and several places downtown," Ramsey added. Talking to LEX 18 last week, Ramsey made a statement about the number of those experiencing homelessness in Lexington on the rise.
"It scares me to death," Ramsey said.
Unlike last year, the Hope Village, a temporary winter shelter for those unsheltered, is not in place. As CAC continues to create a path for those trying to go from the streets to a home, this message is part of the mission.
"Say a prayer for those who are left out and to remember we're all connected," Ramsey said.
The Catholic Action Center is working with community partners to address the spike in those experiencing homelessness in Lexington since last year. That increase is 26.9%.
