'I hit a rough patch:' Homeless woman grateful for Raleigh Rescue Mission this Thanksgiving

Each year, the group spends hours preparing a feast to feed the homeless and needy and, this year, the need has grown in both the Bull City and in Raleigh.

Angelique Smith is struggling after she became homeless over the summer. The change has been particularly hard on her 1-year-old daughter, Akela.

“It is not easy at first because you just want the best for your children,” Smith said. “I hit a rough patch in my life and was going through some things and ended up out on the streets.”

This year, Smith is thankful for the basics.

“I am definitely thankful for a roof over my head, for sure,” she said.

She was also thankful for the pizza served up by Gov. Roy Cooper at the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

“I will be talking to people who maybe right now are down on their luck, may be in between jobs, may be in a situation where they are trying to find somewhere to live,” Cooper said.

Smith and her daughter are all of those things right now. Cooper heard similar stories from other residents at the Rescue Mission and urges people across the state to help those around them in need “particularly around Thanksgiving.”

The Raleigh Rescue Mission works to get residents into more permanent homes, and Smith said she is in the process of looking for a job.

At the Durham Rescue Mission, volunteers spent Wednesday night cooking turkeys for a feast scheduled to start at noon Thursday.