A pregnant mum who felt like she had to choose between buying presents for her children or paying her bills has had Christmas saved after a support project stepped in. Claire Hawley was one of 120 homeless people who were given a free meal at Wing's International Cuisine buffet restaurant on Christmas Eve. She visited the restaurant in Hull with her two daughters Charlotte, seven, and Sophie, five, for a meal after struggling with Universal Credit and losing £500 per month in payments. The Raise the Roof Homeless Project joined forces with the restaurant to hand out food and gift boxes to "give back to those who need it". Claie said the meal, along with help from Raise the Roof to pay for presents for her kids, has "saved Christmas". "I've been losing a lot of money over time and it’s crippled me," she said. "The choice this Christmas was either to pay for food and electric or go hungry and cold if I was to buy presents. "I got what I could for my kids but it really wasn't much at all after paying the bills. I was contemplating telling kids that Santa couldn’t get to us this year, it was that bad, because I couldn't get them presents. "But then I met up with Carl and everyone has been so kind and generous and people rallied round me and were so nice and got gifts for my daughters. It saved Christmas really. "This evening is lovely as we have not been out for so long. I've been suffering badly with PTSD, anxiety and epilepsy and I’m expecting and 12 weeks along, so it’s been nuts and so nice just to enjoy ourselves for now." Carl Simpson, founder of Raise the Roof Hull Homeless Project, said that the gesture from Wing's had "made Christmas". "Being able to have the sit down buffet meal has meant a great deal to the people here, many of them that would otherwise be on the street. It's made a lot of their Christmases," he said. "It's hard to put into words how happy the gesture has made people and what a great social event it also is. "Wing's contacted us and offered to provide meals for 120 people that are homeless or suffering poverty and can't afford to eat as they wanted to give back to the community and treat people that can't afford to eat, never mind eat out at a restaurant. "I think they charge around £18 a head normally, so to give away 120 free meals is just so generous. It's very humbling and was so out of the blue and such a nice gesture." Tony Chen, the manager at Wings, said staff wanted to help people in the local community. "We are so proud to be part of the whole community in Hull and we want to give back by helping those that need it," he said. "We just want to try and make sure that everyone has a good Christmas and by giving out the meals to those that can't normally afford it, we hope it will give them a great time, especially at this time of year. "Hopefully we can do even more charity events like this and help people throughout the rest of the year. Mum made to choose between buying presents or paying bills has Christmas 'saved' Homelessness,Father Christmas,Food,Pregnancy,Christmas gifts,Christmas shopping
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