Nov. 29 marked Giving Tuesday. The holiday was founded 10 years ago to remind everyone about the importance of giving to others as the holiday shopping season begins.

In celebration of Giving Tuesday, the Hoboken Shelter is honoring a former resident who is giving back.

The shelter provides 50 people with a safe place to sleep, while also providing three meals a day.

Linda Moriarity stayed at the shelter for six months while she was homeless. She is now a volunteer.

“It means the world to me because it beats the streets,” she says.

Moriarity moved back to Hudson County last after raising her children in upstate New York. She was born and raised in the county. But Moriarity says she couldn’t afford rent.

After spending four nights on a park bench, Moriarity found the Hoboken Shelter. She says inside she found, “food, clothing, accessories, hygiene products. Everything they gave to us.”

Moriarity was able to get her own home after six months in the shelter. The program provided counseling, skills training and money for a security deposit on a rental in Jersey City.

“A lot of people think a shelter is just a shelter to sleep in. But it’s more than that. It’s a lot more than that,” Moriarity says.

Moriarity is now paying it forward at the shelter by volunteering and inspiring others to do the same.

“If it wasn’t sure them, I don’t know where I’d be. I probably wouldn’t be here,” she says.

“A lot of folks who were working at one time lost their jobs and they are coming through here for the very first time. They’ve never been homeless,” says Norma Rosario, clinical case coordinator at Hoboken Shelter.

Those who work at the shelter say that any amount of donations can help. And people may also volunteer their time as well if they cannot make monetary donations.