We get so hyper-focused as we move about our day. We check off our mental to-do list as we go.
Gas the truck. Check. Get groceries. Check. Notice the homeless guy living in his car parked over two spots? Not typically.
Yet that is precisely what Iowa resident Jake Holloway did when he was running errands. He noticed the silver Jeep often parked in either the Walmart or Target parking lots. When he saw a sticker on the back of the Jeep window which said, “I served” Jake wanted to check on the driver.
Jake meet Nick, the homeless veteran living inside the vehicle. Jake learned Nick faced some pretty rough days recently. When he came home from his tours of duty, Nick’s wife divorced him; leaving him with nothing save the Jeep and his best friend, a boxer.
To survive, Nick sold accessories off of his Jeep while he waited to get paid from his new job at the Department of Transportation.
Hearing Nick’s plight, Jake posted on Facebook when he got home, asking for help from the Altoona community. He explained Nick’s situation and wrote, “It broke my heart. If you wanna do something for someone out of pure selflessness, please…if you see him, out of the kindness of your heart, do something nice for him or his best friend (the boxer dog). Few bucks. A gift. Some dog food. That’s my request. Makes me sick to see a soldier on the street.” (sic)
The townspeople showed up in big and small ways. Some brought money, gift cards, dog food, and according to the local news affiliate, someone paid for a week in a hotel for both Nick and his pet.
What an amazing young man Jake is.
We applaud him and the Altoona community for supporting and caring for a homeless veteran. May God bless you all.
