Community Helps Homeless Man With Food And Housing

A few months ago, Kenneth Smith was in a chair just outside an Outback Steakhouse hungry and half asleep.

A woman leaving the restaurant approached him.

“She asked me was I alright, so I told her, ‘No, I’m not OK at this time,” said Smith.

She gave him a $100 gift card to buy dinner according to WFAA-TV.

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Sitting in the booth, he got to talking to the restaurant’s managing partner, Laura Hodges.

“I said, ‘Hey, I don't ever want you to want for food or go hungry’,” Hodges said. “I want you to always have somewhere that you can get a warm meal. So, here's my business card. Bring it anytime.”

Hodges helped feed Smith off and on for five months before he asked for a job. For the past month, he’s been bussing tables and cleaning up.

Smith still needed help finding a place to stay, so Hodges posted on the Foodies Facebook page asking if anyone knew of a motel with affordable rates.

Generous commenters have now paid for six weeks at a nearby hotel, and have donated more than $2,200 along with a bike, clothing, kitchen items, and groceries.

“I had absolutely no idea that people were going to latch onto that,” Hodges said. “All they wanted to do was throw assistance out there and resources in any way that they possibly could.”

Smith is saving up his money for a car, then a home, and one day hopes to have his own food service business.