Eric is an example on how close we all are to disaster. Eric worked for UPS for 20 years in another state. He was let go and didn’t have the funds to sustain himself until he found another job. He moved here 8 years ago for another job prospect, but it didn’t last very long. He has struggled to get back on his feet and has found himself homeless this last year. Eric had a car that he lived out of and was using to job search, but it broke down about 3 months ago.
His goal now is to get back home to his family in New Jersey, but he has a dog, and it is not easy finding travel he can afford with his companion and now that he has no vehicle it is even harder.
Eric is a very proud man. It took a lot for him to come to our warming station last night. He would not accept any food or clothing during the night. He didn’t want to be a burden to us although he enjoyed the movies we watched. He did eat some breakfast in the morning and took a leftover pizza on his way out. Eric hopes to be back with his family by Christmas as he has finally agreed to accept help to return. He also had to get his dog registered to travel and that took a while since he didn’t have an address to put down or money to pay for it.
Eric told us something about the homeless community in Maury County is that they all help each other. When he gets back on his feet, he wants to help other homeless people do the same. He said he will be back again tomorrow as the temperatures will be cold once more, but he should be on a plane by the end of the week.
We are so grateful to Riverside United Methodist Church for hosting Eric and our other homeless guests this week. We still need more organizations to help us this winter. Please contact 9313883840 and see how you can get involved.
This is Maury 