Homeless man has new hope thanks to a new friend

December 20, 2011|by Jim Grawe | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — Everybody calls him Gator, and his life has taken a dramatic turn.

"Now I have different clothes I can wear each day," Gator says.

There are a lot of things he has now that he didn't have a couple weeks ago.

"I enjoy being able to get a shower every day and three meals a day," Gator says. "Out there on some days you might not get to eat."

Gator, if you can believe it, has been living for the past twelve years underneath Wichita bridges.

"I guess I was doing it for so long I just got used to it."

But recently, police told Gator to pack up and get out from under the Seneca Street bridge. It just so happened that Ken Lockwood was near the river within earshot.

"I was raised that you don't look down upon those that are in a situation they have no control over," Lockwood says.

Lockwood, who runs the Eagle Valley Raptor Center, took Gator under his wing, so to speak. Lockwood has been sharing some of his experiences with Gator on Facebook.

"I asked him if he could use a little bit of help, and he accepted, and off to Walmart we went," Lockwood says.

Lockwood also helped Gator get into Inter-Faith Ministries' Safe Haven shelter.

"I just wanted to see this man get a little bit of pride back in himself," Lockwood says.

Gator says his struggle with alcohol landed him in the streets. And now he has another struggle to contend with--he's been diagnosed with bone cancer. Fortunately, Gator now has someone who cares, who is able to see that he gets to the doctor and lives a safer, healthier life.

Gator was a good friend of the homeless man who was beaten to death near the Arkansas River last week.

Wichita homeless say are the frequent targets of violence by punks and thugs. If you'd like to do something to help them, every dollar donated to the Inter-Faith Ministries' Operation Holiday program will be matched dollar-for-dollar by some anonymous corporate donors.

You can make out the check to United Way-Operation Holiday and mail it to Inter-Faith Ministries at 829 N. Market, Wichita, KS 67214

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