Homeless Man Living Under Bridge Stunned by Mom of 2 Who Insisted on Meeting Him
A news story by WISN-TV recently chronicled the life of a homeless man living underneath a bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Edward Kingery said he has been without a home for two years, and the bridge is his place of rest.
However, getting a good night’s sleep in Milwaukee’s frigid temperatures has been beyond difficult for many homeless people like Kingery.
Even so, using multiple sleeping bags doesn’t even help against the cold winter weather.
“I can’t take this much longer man,” Kingery said with a sob. “There’s nothing worse in your life then coming home and facing something like this, nothing worse.”
After airing the heartfelt interview, WISN-TV contacted a local outreach program to pick up Kingery for the night.
His cries for help were heard by many people across the area, but there was one mom-of-two who insisted on meeting the destitute man.
In another news video, Kingery came face-to-face with Karyn Oberlander and her two sons. The woman told WISN-TV that she too was once homeless for 10 years and seeing the interview prompted her to help.
“So that kind of touched home with me too, you know I’ve been there,” she said. “Especially in the winter time like this, it’s even worse.”
Oberlander not only wanted to give Kingery some words of encouragement but also handed him a $100 Visa gift card and a bus card worth $20.
At first, Kingery was hesitant about taking the kind offer but eventually accepted while saying, “My heart is just joyful.”
In addition to bringing some hope to Kingery, Oberlander also wanted to teach her boys a lesson about homeless people. “The stigma of homeless people being bad or alcoholics or drug addicts is not always the case,” she said.
In Kingery’s case, his life suddenly got off course after losing a few close family members. Despite it all, he expressed to Oberlander’s sons that he also learned a few other important lessons.
“To be honest and good and with a gracious heart is a very good thing,” he mentioned. “Your mother is a great woman. Thank you so much.”
Kingery said he plans to spend his gift card on a few warm items like socks and long johns.
Fortunately, he was able to stay in a warm shelter for the next few days but hopes to pay back Oberlander someday for her kindness.
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