A Lubbock man was the center of a surprise as he prepares to spend his first holiday season in a place he can call his own.
Curtis Smith was homeless for 10 years. Now that he has a roof over his head, some of his friends wanted to help him celebrate his first Christmas in his own home.
“Curtis has a very special place in our heart, and we wanted the opportunity to share what he means to us, with him,” said Jeni Castillo, who helped organize the surprise.
Castillo, a friend of Smith’s, is the founder of Restoring Hope Lubbock, a group that helps the Lubbock community “one person at a time.”
A few of Smith’s friends spent the afternoon on Thanksgiving adorned his Central Lubbock apartment with holiday decorations.
“He’s a part of all our lives every single day and to keep a secret from him it was definitely hard,” she explained.
As he arrived home, he exclaimed “What are you doing in my house?”
“Merry Christmas!” they replied.
After Smith recovered from the fear that the apartment was broken into, he thanked his friends for providing him with holiday cheer.
“Thanksgiving is about friends and family,” Smith said. “If you don’t have friends and family, then what do you really have?”
“It’s really nice to know that I do have people in my life,” he added.
Restoring Hope Lubbock pooled together ornaments, candy, cookies, photos, and a Christmas tree to put in his home.
“We practice giving 365 days out of the year,” said Castillo, affirming Smith’s statement that people need care all the time.
“People always get in the hustle and bustle and worry about themselves, but if they just took a second to care about somebody else,” Smith stated, explaining that people in his life need more than he does. “It’s about being thankful for what you have.”
“You have been nothing but heart and you’ve just given and it’s just been a joy to know you, and a joy to serve beside you,” Castillo said to him during the reveal.
“It’s about being thankful for what you have,” said Smith.
