N.S. news: Shelter hands out purses for holidays [Video]

Dawn Ferris has been at Autumn House for seven years and giving to their clients at Christmas has always been a top priority.

The shelter gives out shoeboxes filled with donations through a Halifax-based initiative year round to new clients, but at Christmas they make sure the bag it comes in is a gift in itself.

“It’s one of the times of year, the most stressful time of year, and if you’re dealing with a recent breakup or domestic violence or those challenges…it’s just a nice way of celebrating and feeling part of a bigger community,” said Ferris, executive director for the Cumberland County Transition House Association.

While unsure of the exact date it started, Ferris says for years staff have been filling gently-used purses that have been donated from the community with items like deodorant, soap and socks.

“Every year we have between 30-40 purses that we give out,” said Ferris. “It used to be between …