Grassroots effort offers help to homeless people in Gaston County

Kara Fohner, Gaston Gazette
·4 min read
Ricky Williams, pictured with his 2-year-old son, Lolo, and community volunteer David Ward, has been living at a hotel in Gastonia.
Ricky Williams, pictured with his 2-year-old son, Lolo, and community volunteer David Ward, has been living at a hotel in Gastonia.

Ricky Williams was at a Circle K gas station buying food for his children when a Stanley man named David Ward approached him.

"He asked me, he said, 'Are you hungry?'" Williams said.

Williams, who has been living at Woodspring Suites in Gastonia, was.

Ward, who has been spearheading a grassroots effort in Gaston County to aid people who are homeless, said that he didn't know that Williams needed help.

David Ward, who has spearheaded a local effort to help people who are homeless, hugs a man.
David Ward, who has spearheaded a local effort to help people who are homeless, hugs a man.

"I was trying to feed people," Ward said. "We had more food than we had people. I've had people say, 'no, we're not homeless.' It doesn't matter if you're homeless or not. If you're hungry, we've got food."

Ward said that he first met some of the people he serves in December, when his church, Victory Life Assembly of God, took out treat bags for people.

"And that's when I said, they need more than a treat bag," Ward said.

Since then, Ward has partnered with other community volunteers and businesses to feed people, many of them homeless, on Friday evenings. He also visits homeless encampments throughout the week, going with other volunteers to drop off food, clothing, and even bicycles for the people there.

On a recent Friday night, Ward and a troop of volunteers put up tables outside a Circle K in Gastonia. There, they served food potluck-style to people who trickled into the parking lot, many of them arriving on foot.

David Ward and other volunteers have been serving dinners to people who are hungry on Friday evenings.
David Ward and other volunteers have been serving dinners to people who are hungry on Friday evenings.

Gilbert Puckett, one of the volunteers, has been using his business, 105 Main Florist in Stanley, as a drop-off point for donations. He first learned of the effort from a Facebook post Ward wrote, and since then, he's volunteered both his time and his business.

"It's the least we can do," he said.

On Friday, Feb. 16, outside the Circle K gas station, volunteers served up a chicken casserole with green beans and potato salad, a regular salad, cupcakes, potato chips and fruit, all prepared by a volunteer.

A variety of community businesses have pitched in to aid in the effort. A woman who runs a plumbing business donates food. A local Food Lion donates produce. Two local bakeries have been donating baked goods every week.

"He does this every day," Puckett said of Ward. "This is his life."

Robin Fleming, who said he has been homeless for almost three years, said that he met Ward about two months ago. Fleming said that he has found a limited pool of resources for people who are homeless in Gaston County. Instead, he said, he has been threatened with arrest for picking up trash at the side of the road.

Robin Fleming said he worked in the newspaper industry before becoming homeless.
Robin Fleming said he worked in the newspaper industry before becoming homeless.

Fleming said that he became homeless after losing toes to frostbite. Before that, he worked in the newspaper industry.

"It's all I can do to stand on my feet. It's getting worse by the day," he said.

John Hyatt, who said he has been homeless for more than a year, said he was living in a house in Dallas until his landlord sold it.

John Hyatt said that he is grateful for the food that David Ward brings him.
John Hyatt said that he is grateful for the food that David Ward brings him.

"I had no other options," he said.

He said he is grateful Ward brings him food.

"Before that, we didn't know where our meals were coming from," he said. "He's made stuff a lot easier on us, but we still try to do the best we can for ourselves."

Ward's efforts are supported by his church, as well as business owners and a variety of friends and volunteers who have pitched in to help.

Amy Stewart, an independent photojournalist who has been documenting the effort, said she first learned about it when Ward asked for donations on social media for people at an encampment that had been swept away by floodwaters.

"That really grabbed my attention: Just the devastation of being unhoused and not even having that much, and then losing everything that you have. He was asking the community for help, and the community was really coming out to support him and his efforts," she said. "And I just thought, 'this is truly beautiful and amazing to see.'"

Williams said that he was in a difficult situation when Ward found him.

"He really does it for the pleasure of making someone else fulfilled in some way," he said.

Ward said that he wants to make a positive difference in the lives that he touches.

"I want to see people's lives changed. I want to see the world changed," he said. "(Others) think these people don't belong in the world. They're just as much a part of it as we are."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Grassroots effort offers help to people who are homeless