'They change lives': Phoenix nonprofit gives Christmas gifts to patients experiencing homelessness

Circle the City distributes Christmas gifts to patients experiencing homelessness

FOX 10's Stephanie Bennett reports.

PHOENIX - Phoenix-based nonprofit Circle the City made Christmas Day a little brighter for the homeless by handing out presents to their patients.

The nonprofit provides medical care from checkups, recoveries from surgery, long-term cancer care and more.

"Coming to Circle the City has been a blessing, especially through the holidays," said patient Gregory Bolden. "Keeps me out of the cold."

For a brief moment, patients are able to forget about the realities of life and focus on making happy memories.

Volunteers on Christmas helped hand out dozens of gifts.

"When patients are here, they feel like they are part of something special, and that’s where the healing really begins, and that’s really what we are about," said Marty Hames, communications director for Circle the City.

Gregory Bolden has been a patient for several months, as he's been fighting bone cancer since 2013.

"I went through 30 days of radiation," Bolden said. "Now I just do chemotherapy and I go every week."

Circle the City serves people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, allowing people to recover from major surgeries and recover in the comfort and guidance of medical staff instead of being out on the streets - and everything is completely free of cost.

"This year we will serve 7,500 people in Maricopa County and that includes men, women, and children," Marty Hames said.

Shatha Kazim is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. She just had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy.

"This chemo makes you feel like empty from inside, and it makes you feel like you are nothing, but people here, you know, they make me feel like I’m their family," Kazim said. "Without this place I’m going to die. I can’t make it."

For some, these are the first presents they've opened in years. From watches and headphones to everyday essentials like clothes and shoes, the nonprofit is helping heal from the inside out.

"They take care of a lot of people, you know," Kazim said. "They change lives of a lot of people."

More on Circle the City: https://www.circlethecity.org/