Oakville's community gathered at The 5 Drive-In for a special double-feature screening hosted by Home Suite Hope last night.
The event screened Despicable Me 4 and Twisters, to raise funds for programs supporting homeless and precariously housed single mothers in Halton.
"With this event, we're trying to spread awareness of our organization, we're a small Oakville organization and we really want to spread more awareness about what we do, and the people we serve," said Events Coordinator Katelyn Zaoral.
Home Suite Hope focuses on single-parent families, with current programs specifically supporting single mothers.
The funds raised from last night's event will directly benefit programs such as Homeward Bound Halton, which began in 2014 as Canada's first replication of an award-winning educational initiative for homeless and precariously housed single mothers.
According to Home Suite Hope, this program addresses poverty, prevents domestic violence, and fosters economic security for these mothers.
"It's our main four-year program that offers child care subsidy, allows the single parents to go back to school with Sheridan College, gives them wrap-around support, case management, life skills training, really just all the skills they need to better themselves and work on stopping generational poverty," Zaoral said.
Home Suite Hope has recently faced significant challenges due to the cost of living and housing crisis, which has put several families in their program at risk of homelessness.
Read more: 'Very problematic': Home Suite Hope faces housing crisis amid rising costs
"Part of our programming is putting the single-parent families and their children in stable housing and the affordable housing is just a big crisis right now," said Zaoral.
"For a single parent relying on Ontario Works and some other subsidies that we give them, it's just not cutting it, so being able to stabilize them first in housing is a problem now," she continued.
As it came closer to show time, cars started rolling in and trunks started popping as moviegoers came out to support a good cause. Figures for the funds raised have not yet been released.
To learn more about Home Suite Hope and their programs, visit their website.