MIAMI – It took Michael Wilson a little more than 17 hours to travel to Miami from his home state of Arkansas.
“I was tired of the life I was living, and I knew I had to get away from everyone I knew,” he said. “So, I decided to come down to Florida.”
But his road to physical and emotional wellbeing took much longer than that.
“I had such horrible depression where I tried killing myself more than once, and that’s all I thought about for so long until I came here,” Wilson said.
The “here” he was referring to is The Caring Place at the Miami Rescue Mission.
An unexpected encounter with a stranger in a food line one year ago led the 32-year-old Wilson to walk through their doors and find the nourishment he so desperately needed.
“I’m in such a better place now, and it all started because someone told me I could come here and get some food,” he said.
Lian Navarro, the Assistant Director of Community Development at The Caring Place, said the facility is a “365-day operation.”
She told Local 10 News that, like Wilson, most men there find that hope begins with a meal.
“Over 1,200 meals are served at all of our centers in Miami and Broward County,” she said.
During the fall season, that number rises significantly. The Caring Place serves 250,000 plates of food.
“These are the combination of homeless individuals and also families that come in that have food insecurity,” Navarro said.
“When you finally get something to eat, you’re relaxed,” said Wilson. “You’re able to think better. You’re actually able to focus on something you need to do to better yourself.”
Better himself and others.
Wilson recently graduated from the organization’s regeneration program.
He’s also helping men at the education center develop skills to enter the workforce.
With his treasured brown cowboy boots on, Wilson is now walking with confidence, gratitude, and a healthy outlook for the journey ahead.
“What I am going to do is go to college,” he said. “I am going to get a degree in a field where I can help other people who are trying to get out of drug addiction or trying to get out of a bad position in life that they don’t see any help. This place will always have a place in my heart, because they gave me what I needed to start a new life.”
Miracles happen every day at The Caring Place, and the nonprofit hopes Local 10′s Day of Giving on Friday is no different.
With a donation of just $2.70, The Caring Place can provide one Thanksgiving meal, and with your support, they can feed thousands during the holidays.
The Caring Place will be at the Publix in Hollywood, located at 1700 Sheridan Street, as will Local 10′s Calvin Hughes and Nicole Perez, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.