A Meal for the Homeless

More than 200 homeless people and others down on their luck received hot meals, warm clothes and other necessities on Saturday at  in Santa Monica.

The 27th annual Christmas Eve event was hosted by Family Assistance Involving the Homeless, or FAITH, which was founded nearly 30 years ago by Pacific Palisades resident Mimi Adams and her friends Antoinette Bill and Mona Lavine.

Adams died in 2006, but the Christmas Eve tradition continues under the leadership of her husband Ken and their children Julie, John and Ash.

Julie Adams Eamer, of Malibu, said when her mother and the other founders of FAITH began helping the homeless in Santa Monica 29 years ago, there were lots of people roaming the city's streets with no shelters or organizations to provide assistance.

"There was a big need for these people to get fed," Eamer said. "So they started feeding them out of their car, seven days a week on the bluffs."

The operation later moved to the front lawn of , and eventually the city was encouraged to designate a building for the Santa Monica’s first homeless shelter.

FAITH still exists today. Its volunteers have relationships with restaurants from which they collect food and distribute it to shelters throughout the county. 

Eamer said her mother came up with the idea for the Christmas Eve luncheon because she wanted to provide the homeless with a holiday meal. Eamer said she and her family enjoy carrying on the tradition of kindness.