A Little Caring Is a Powerful Thing

On February 23 the Lithia Springs High School Key Club fed the homeless in Douglasville. They arrived with fried chicken, cornbread, mac and cheese and more. Through local church volunteers, we had gotten the word out to our consumers in advance. They showed up, mostly two by two. The event was planned as a way to commemorate Black History Month. Of course those who arrived were of vastly different heritages. That might have been the first lesson of the afternoon.

One of the first to arrive was a veteran. Last fall, with Davidae Walker of Douglas County Ride Share acting as an irresistible force, we overcame many obstacles to help him get some of his benefits. The Veteran's Administration was eager to help. Marines take pride in being self-sufficient, and he is no exception. He lives alone, but has a deep concern about the desperate situation of so many others in the area.

He worried about one couple in particular and reminded me that they lived in the  woods behind a nearby empty store. We decided to take them dinners. Several of the young people wanted to come along. I decided against that, not knowing what we would find. I had spoken to the couple two months earlier about going into the Street to Home Program, but they changed their minds at the last minute. The man, a stoke victim, could barely walk with a walker. I had never heard him speak. Of all of the desperate people that I had met or spoken to, he seemed the most vulnerable, the one person least likely to survive very much longer. When we got to the camp, the scene was disturbing. Not only did he look as weak as I had feared, but also his companion looked unhealthy. They could eat, though. They finished two dinners each. They also told me that they were ready to enter the program.

Two days later, I was back with Phillip Hunter, Metro Atlanta United Way Director of Homelessness. He was very moved by what he saw, and the next day we had them in Grady Hospital. She was extremely ill. She was in I.C.U. for over a week and stayed in Grady for about two weeks. After a day he was in an apartment provided by Sound Landing, with new roommates who were eager to help him recover his health. She is now staying in an apartment next door to him. The case workers at the charity are extremely proud of the progress the two have made.

I've been trying to help the homeless in Douglas County for less than a year. Others have been helping for over a decade. Thankfully. many of them have been generous enough to put away their initial suspicion and concern and to take me into their confidence. I've gone from hearing weekly stories about people in desperate situations to hearing new stories almost daily. It's easy to receive a phone call, call a contact affiliated with United Way, make arrangements and go on as if nothing very special happened. Deep down, however, I know that every time a person who is living in a place unfit for human habitation gets an opportunity to live a little more decently, it's special.

The last week of February was incredibly special. It was incredible that this high school group would do what it did. It was incredible how the caring power of those kids seemed to take on a life of its own, actually two lives. At least one of the people they helped attended their high school decades earlier. They helped open a door for this couple. There is a high probability that this may have been their last chance to go through that door. Now it's up to them to make the most of the new opportunities that they have been offered. I'm confident that the lasting lesson that this great group of youngsters learned was that a little caring is a powerful thing. Once you let it out, there is no way of knowing how wonderful and far-reaching the results might be.