KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The holiday season is one of the most difficult times of the year for people who are homeless and hurting. But at Shelter KC, lives are being transformed, dignity is being restored, hopelessness is being replaced, and Christmas is taking on a whole new meaning. The shelter opened in 1950 and each year, hundreds, sometimes even thousands, have found food, shelter, and hope when they walked through its doors. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri Terrance, a 65-year-old man struggling with addiction and trying to stay clean, said that last month, Shelter KC offered him more than a bed; it gave him a tangible plan to get his life back on track. Now, he is looking at his future with anticipation instead of fear. "It's just exciting. It's almost like a kid in a candy store," Terrance said. "I honestly get moved by the things that are happening around here. It's contagious. I guess what you call hungry. It's got me kind of hungry for it. I'm here and I love it, and I can't get enough of it." Shelter KC also offers rooms and programs for homeless people with medical problems, including mental illness. But, to expand some of these programs, it needs more space. Metro barbershop holding cut-a-thon to help families in need The organization is hoping to break ground on that expansion in March, however, it still needs to raise several hundreds of thousands of dollars to do that. If you would like to learn more or help financially, you go to shelterkc.org and check out the transformation page.