Dear Jalissa,

Are you safe and warm this Christmas Eve? I heard on the news that the shelters around South Dallas are especially full this week. I pray that you and your family have found a place to be together and that you are not hungry tonight.

It feels strange for me to wish you a Merry Christmas. So, I will wish you peace in the midst of uncertainty, pain and loss. I pray for a bed to sleep in, a warm meal to eat and a sense of security tonight. And most of all, I wish you a hopeful Christmas season.

Hold fast to the belief that one day you will have a place to call home again.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson