Homeless Teen Knocks On Random Door For Food, Ends Up Finding A Home, Mother Figure And Church Family
Eighteen-year-old Kalon Smith had nothing—no job, no money, and no home—barely keeping himself alive scrounging for food as he spent the coldest months of winter on a park bench in Ennix, Texas.
But he had one thing that kept him going: hope.
And finally, just recently, his hope coupled with faith and perseverance bore fruit. One day, during one of his "food-begging" runs, he knocked on the door of a house where Brook Welton lives, according to WFAA-TV.
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Seeing the tired and desperate-looking young man, Welton felt compassion and offered him more than a hot meal for the night. She told Kalon he could stay with her family "as long as he keeps his head on straight and goes on the right path we're willing to help."
Moving in to Welton's home, Kalon also found the opportunity to join the nearby local church, the Tabernacle Baptist Church.
The church welcomed Kalon, with Brandon Hixson, the worship pastor, even helping him apply for his social security card, find a job, and get the support of the community to enable him to continue his schooling and live a decent life.
Kalon was overwhelmed with gratitude at the hospitality and kindness shown by total strangers.
"I really don't know how to put it in words, just thankfulness because if it wasn't for them honestly I think I would still be sleeping in the park somewhere."
He was especially thankful towards the woman who first extended him a helping hand. "Brooke has been my backbone. She's my mother figure now," he told WFAA-TV.
Hearing what Kalon just said, Welton couldn't help but shed some tears. "He's never said that to me. That's really sweet. That's really sweet," she said.
Before he found support, Kalon had known nothing but misery. He learned that at the age of 2, he was given up by his mother and placed in foster care.
But after 15 years in foster care, a judge returned him to his mother. But his relationship with his mother immediately went "sour," and he was forced to leave her house at 17, carrying just a bag of clothes.
"I was kicked out of the house. I packed my bag and left," he said.
With no family member to go to or ask for help, he decided to make a park bench his "home."
Kalon said he braved the freezing winter weather for months, lying or sitting on that bench. Each morning, he would get up and go to his class at Ennis High School.
He thought no one cared for him—until he met Welton.
To provide financial assistance for Kalon, Pastor Hixson created a GoFundMe page for Kalon with the goal set for $3,000. The donations have already exceeded that amount.
Hixson said all of the funds collected will be used to help Kalon move into a dorm room and start summer classes as soon as he graduates from high school this May.
