Hundreds of people call her Mum. Her favourite saying is "thanks, hon", and she could hug for Australia.

There was plenty of that on Sunday, when her team of volunteers served free Christmas lunch to 120 disadvantaged people at the Drill Hall near Queen Victoria Market.

But it wasn't some one-off kindness. For the past three years, Ms Henry's grassroots charity, From Us 2 You, has served meals to the homeless two or three times a week at Batman Park in the city.

And from her Epping house, Ms Henry distributes hampers of donated household goods to the needy. This year she has helped 50 domestic violence survivors restart their lives.

Five times in the past two years, clients from Batman Park have rung her in the middle of the night saying they were about to take their own lives, and she has driven into the city to help them.

Her proudest experiences have been helping two homeless ice addicts, one aged 27, the other 50.

The younger woman has been clean since Easter, went back to school and is regaining custody of her two daughters.

The older woman, who used to ring her at 3am to talk, returned to see Ms Henry two months ago - clean, with a part-time job and a house.

"It was the best Christmas present I've ever got," Ms Henry said.

Ms Henry, 61, a mother of four and grandmother of nine, has had her own ups and downs.

She had an alcoholic mother and in her 20s she suffered domestic violence.

But nobody helped her: "There was no help for women back then."

She left her partner, taking her two small children to live with her father.

But she became an alcoholic. She has been sober for 12 years but has suffered depression and anxiety.

Ms Henry's aim for the Christmas attendees on Sunday was simple: "I hope they walk away with a full stomach and a smile. They keep me happy the same way as I keep them happy."

A big fan of Ms Henry's is burly homeless man John King.

Five years ago, he lost his high-paying pest control job after an injury. His wife left him and he lost his house because he couldn't afford the rent.

He says Ms Henry has given him "not only food, but someone to chat to. I know I can tell her whatever, and I'm not judged."

Two years ago, Ms Henry drove to his old town north of Melbourne to retrieve his kids' photos that the landlord was about to throw out.

"What person does that? Someone very special," Mr King said.

"We call her Mum. 'cause she is our mum. She looks after us like a mum."

He came to Christmas lunch to thank Ms Henry "for everything she's done. If I won Tattslotto I'd give it all to this woman."