Gloucester resident Wendy Roundy started in 2010 what is now called Helping the Homeless Ministry. Since then, over 45,000 hot meals have been served to the needy by the ministry.

Plans are in the works for the ministry to expand and create a program that helps those in need get back on their feet.

Roundy said the ministry evolved from a coat drive she took part in Richmond where a needy woman came up to her and asked simply for a blanket. It was a snowy day and the only blanket they had was an old, worn one, which Roundy gave her. The lady took it, wrapped up in it and went to lie down on the sidewalk. 

“I couldn’t get that image out of my head,” Roundy said, knowing she, herself, would be going home in a warm car to a warm home and able to sleep in a warm bed. “My heart was crying for her,” she said. 

At this point, Roundy said her eyes were opened to the seriousness of the issue of homelessness. “I could no longer not see,”...