"We're trying to give them stuff to get them through the winter; coats, gloves, tents, and sleeping bags," said Budd Kuyper of Anchor House.

CANTON Budd Kuyper and Michelle L. Beyer say they know how it feels to be homeless. They want others in the same situation to know they aren't forgotten.

On Christmas Eve, Kuyper, founder and chief executive officer of the Anchor House in Alliance, and Beyer, founder of "Addictions, Voices of Hope" and a peer support specialist at ICAN, will spearhead "A Family Christmas Eve: Share the Warmth." It's a free event for homeless residents from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Martin Center at 1253 Third St. SE.

Now in its third year, the collaborative event will feature dinner, giveaways, and such personal services as haircuts, hygiene kits, massages and beauty makeovers. SARTA is offering free bus passes for those wishing to attend. There also will be entertainment by Jon Tisivich, director of the Canton Players Guild, students from the EN-RICH-MENT music school, and an appearance by Santa.

Participating sponsors include Anchor House, Stark County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery, ICAN, SARTA, Goodwill industries, WHBC AM Radio,Your Pizza of Alliance, Life in the Son Ministries, the Stark County Hunger Task Force and Community Harvest.

"We're trying to give them stuff to get them through the winter; coats, gloves, tents, and sleeping bags," said Kuyper, who once spent nine days on the streets of Canton to better understand the homelessness experience here.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that one count in Stark County found that 472 residents were homeless.

Bigger and better

"This year, we put (WHBC Radio host) Gary Rivers in charge, and it's huge this year," Beyer said.

"We're excited this year that we have a new location, the Martin Center, which is large enough to accommodate it," Kuyper said. "We have a giant room for food, nobody's going to be crammed. We have bathrooms and this year we're going to offer showers. It's amazing that we're able to, and that was Gary Rivers making the phone calls and getting it done, and the Martin Center saying they were happy to do it."

Beyer, who hosts a twice-weekly show on 95.5 FM radio, met Kuyper three years ago when he was a guest on her show.

"Last year at Thanksgiving, I had all this food," she recalled. "I just asked people to come out. I called Budd, who had become a friend, and said I wanted to do a Christmas dinner."

"In year one, we had 40 people," said Kuyper who added that he originally planned to be in prison ministry. "God said, 'No, I want you to work with the homeless.' "I'm trying to be a good servant."

In Share the Warmth's second year, hundreds turned out for a Christmas Eve dinner in the parking lot of the main branch the Stark County District Library. Because of the unusually warm weather last year, people were able to eat outside.

"They matter"

Kuyper said Canton has a variety of good social services, but some homeless people are reluctant to use them.

"In Canton, you can eat six days a week, two meals a day, and on the seventh day you can eat three times a day," he said. "If you don't know that, you might be missing meals and you don't need to. Not in Canton, Ohio."

Some people, he added, are leery that agencies designed to serve them are just using them "for the numbers." Still others, he said, avoid authorities for fear of jail, or losing custody of their children. As a result, some sleep in abandoned buildings or even outdoors.

"Budd and I want to show them we care," Beyer said. "I was homeless at times during my drug addiction as well. "

Beyer gets emotional when discussing why she and Kuyper organized the event.

"This is our family," she said. "We want them to know they count. They matter."

For more information visit www.sharethewarmth.org.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP