BRADENTON — Kim Johnson barely had time to put down a container of hot coffee in a parking lot across from the Manatee courthouse Wednesday morning before she was surrounded by men in desperate need and grateful for her generosity.
For two days now, Johnson and her sister, Shelley Troyer, have been handing out coffee, blankets, sandwiches and cookies to the homeless. On Tuesday night, they focused on the 14th Street West corridor.
Christmas Eve morning, it was downtown Bradenton.
“I just got home from shopping the other day, and I just didn’t feel right. While my family is laughing and having a good time on Christmas, these men will be out here trying to survive,” Troyer said.
She is not exaggerating, said Jim Boyer, as he sipped on coffee provided by the women.
“There is no place for me to go, nothing for me to eat,” he said. “What these women are doing is a blessing from God.”
Both Johnson and Troyer work at Blake Medical Center and say they cherish having jobs they don’t take for granted.
“People think the homeless are somehow not human. But I believe never say never, that it can’t happen to you,” Johnson said.
Gary Bunkley agreed. He recently lost his job and apartment, and has been on the street the past four days.
“It happened really fast. I lost my job and couldn’t keep my place. So now I am out here for the first time,” Bunkley said. “It is a struggle out here to survive. I just look up in the sky and pray.”
The sisters brought their children with them. Young Dallas Troyer, 11, gave a man cookies Wednesday morning and handed out food Tuesday night. So did Johnson’s daughter, 12-year-old Kaitlyn Horton.
“She has been so excited running around the house,” said Johnson. “I think it is important for them to take part in this to see just how lucky they are.”
For the sisters, the most rewarding part is seeing the camaraderie between the people they have met who are living on the street.
“They sit together and laugh just like we do in our homes. It has brought me to tears,” Troyer said. “And there hasn’t been a single one of them who didn’t say thank you to me.”
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