Volunteers warm the hearts of the less fortunate in Jackson

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Even though he’s homeless, Daniel Wallace is still counting his blessings. He’s still alive and his five year old daughter is staying with relatives.

“I’m trying to better myself for my daughter, my mom and mainly me,” said Wallace. The 44-year-old admits to getting in trouble with the law and fell on hard times three months ago. He’s working part-time but does not make enough to pay rent or a mortgage.

Wallace is determined to not let his current reality be like others of being in the streets for a long time. “If it wasn’t for God a lot of these people out here would be dead,” said Wallace.

A group of friends volunteered Saturday and held a blanket drive for the homeless. They called their event “Warming Hearts for Christmas.” They passed out blankets, clothes, food and masks.

Christopher Levy said, “We wanted to be a blessing during the Christmastime and just warm some hearts. We are all going through this pandemic. Others are having a harder time than some so we just wanted to let them know that we are here for them.”

This is the group’s first event of giving back to the community. They decided to do something after seeing so many people homeless every day. They plan to make the giveaway an annual event.

“We are a blessed group of individuals so to know that we can be a blessing to someone else is actually a great thing,” said Dr. Etosha Johnson.

Wallace is excited about the items he received. He said he’s also getting assistance from a local agency and believes his miracle of finding a home is right around the corner. “I hope it’s Monday morning if God let me wake up to see, which he will because I have faith.”