WHITESBORO, N.Y. – A dinner was offered to Whitesboro residents affected by the Halloween floods so they could enjoy a home cooked meal.
Jennifer Delgado and her daughter, Jelani Kelley, stopped by the Crosspoint Church for a free, hot meal.
"Tonight means a lot for the church to have helped us have dinner," Delgado said.
Delgado, along with her other family members, lost their home in the flood.
"We lost everything, our shed, our basement, our top of the house got flooded so we lost a lot," Delgado said.
Delgado says while the last month has been tough for her family, it has kept them close.
"I've remained strong for my family because yes we lost something tragic but at the same time we've gained something beautiful, we remembered the true meaning of family," Delgado said.
Kelley agrees that while this has been hard to process, she has remained strong with her family.
"It's been nerve-wrecking, stressed, crazy but I have been happy too because our family has been close together, working together," Kelley said.
It's taught them a lot about what it means to be a family, and with all of the help they've received, it's taught them the true meaning of being a part of a community.
"There are still good people out there, good hearted people that are there to help in the good times and the bad," Delgado said.
"It's a beautiful thing," Kelley said. "I'm so grateful for everyone that's helping us right now."
Even in the midst of the Holiday season, Delgado and Kelley are staying positive.
"It was the worst time, but I feel like it brought more of what the meaning of Christmas is all about, which is about family," Delgado said. "It's about us being together for Christmas, it's not about the gifts, it's not about what you get, it's about being together."
The fellowship leader at Crosspoint Church, Clarissa Vaber, says the church has other ways to help the community along with providing free meals.
"We do have a food pantry that gets filled nearly daily and emptied daily," Vaber said. "We have a Christmas giving tree, we know of families that are in need, we have a room filled with gifts that will be wrapped and sent to that particular child or family that has that need. It's a lot of efforts in a lot of different ways."