Kelly's Corner Homeless Help

I am one person of many honoring Kelly Thomas, a beautiful gentle guy, by helping the homeless who are still with us. Kelly Thomas was a 37 year old homeless man with schizophrenia who was murdered at the Fullerton Transportation Center in July 2011 by 6 Fullerton cops. They beat him, tazzed him, and smothered him until he was brain dead. He was doing nothing wrong. There's a video of it on youtube. You've probably seen it. It made international news. Was on CNN and every major news outlet. It is excrutiating. His parents had to take him off of life support because the doctors said he was already "gone." We refer to the area as Kelly's corner. It's a living memorial to him and a place that many homeless people call "home" still. The homeless population in Fullerton alone has grown from 100 three years ago to 300+ today. And often when I am at Kelly's corner, I cry thinking about him. I bring flowers and mylar heart balloons, poems, prayers for his family. I bring my soulfulness into this place. It all started for me when the cops were found not guilty of killing Kelly Thomas in early 2014. I had never ever been an advocate before. But that verdict rattled me into getting off of my butt and doing something to make this world more compassionate. Sometimes if we're lucky in life, something will resonate so much in us, that makes us step up and push ourselves to grow like we never have before. We can shine better than we thought possible.

I started out in February 2014 using my own money to buy food, water, and toiletries for the homeless at the Fullerton Transportation Center in Fullerton, CA. But folks, I am not made of money. I'm dealing with a single income. Now people are helping me with donations which makes me cry every time. It's incredibly touching. I don't belong to a charity or church. I am one person trying to make a difference by bringing supplies once a week. I am extremely hands-on. I stay there and listen to the people who live there. I don't judge. Instead, I provide friendship, acute eyes and ears on the streets, and find out the reality of life on the streets which is oftentimes heartbreaking as well as heartwarming. I ain't gonna lie, it's very emotional work. In between visits, I am working with the city government, city and county agencies, and like-minded people to help what most consider to be invisible people: the homeless/mentally ill. The stigma of homelessness and mental illness needs to be broken. This is one of the last frontiers of civil rights because it's hidden and so darn difficult to deal with. Life is just messy. The sooner we face this and help those less fortunate, the sooner we can breathe and live as true human beings, true contributors to a more meaningful world. These issues will not go away on their own. It's we the people who will own our humanity.