Nine-year-old girl teams up to help Montreal's homeless

MONTREAL -

With temperatures dropping and a strain on services for the homeless, a nine-year-old girl is making it her mission to help.

A week before Christmas, Kyra Milan Brown spend the day handing out food and supplies at Cabot Square hoping to bring some holiday cheer to those in need.

"I like helping people," she said. "It makes me feel good."

She said the gift of giving runs in the family.

"My mom used to go to the women's shelter and paint their nails so she helped people, basically it goes through the family of helping people," said Brown.

Brown and her mother Shenika Paris were inspired by posts on social media and put together bags of toiletries and snacks to hand out to those living on the streets through the year.

This year, Brown teamed up with her family friend Loreena Gabriel, who runs the non-profit Crown Project and has organized similar winter drives in years past.

"Her enthusiasm, her excitement is really inspiring," said Gabriel. "It motivates me to keep doing what I'm doing to be so excited and thinking of ideas and really engaged in everything we're doing for this whole process."

The two pooled their resources and put out the call for more essential goods and winter garments for Montreal's homeless population.

"I found out that she did this every year for Christmas and I thought that I was the only one who did it, so I thought it'd be cool to work with her and do it with her," said Brown.

Her mother is so proud of the young girl.

"I can't even explain it how proud I am that my nine-year-old, this is something she loves doing, super passionate about this," said Paris. "This drive, she raised a lot of money (and) people donated supplies. She was really into it, I'm so proud you have no idea."

Brown hopes to inspire other kids her age to find the spirit of giving.

"I think that would be a good idea because I want to encourage young kids like me that it's not only adults that do the work," she said. "We can help too and we can make a big difference."