PHOENIX — This year, with help from Sanderson Ford and Sanderson Lincoln, ABC15 is proud to welcome New Life Center as the newest nonprofit to benefit from Operation Santa Claus.
It’s one of the largest emergency domestic violence shelters in the country, providing safety and stability for families forced to leave dangerous living situations, and sometimes only with what they are wearing.
ABC15’s Kaley O’Kelley talked with Amy Scanlon, who is the director of outreach programs at New Life Center. Scanlon says families often arrive with their children, and sometimes their pets, after making the difficult decision to walk away from everything familiar.
The center offers more than 100 beds and a campus designed around privacy.
Instead of traditional dorm-style living, families stay in private "casitas" with their own bedroom and bathroom. Individuals who arrive alone stay in single villas that give them the same dignity and secure space to begin healing.
The shelter also works closely with teens and young adults through Kaity’s Way, a program started in memory of Kaity Sudberry, who was killed by an ex-boyfriend at age 17.
The classes focus on helping young people recognize the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships so they never reach the point of needing an emergency shelter themselves.
Through Operation Santa Claus, families staying at New Life Center will be able to celebrate the holiday season with a sense of normalcy.
Parents can choose gifts for their children from the center’s Santa Shop and wrap them to create a Christmas morning their kids will always remember.
Scanlon tells O’Kelley that even one donated gift tells a survivor that they matter and they are not alone.
This year, we are celebrating 25 years of making the holidays hopeful for Arizona families in need, but this is a mission we cannot complete without the generosity of our community.
To support Operation Santa Claus and help New Life Center, along with our other charitable partners, go to givetotheclaus.com.
