Kindness Abounds
I was pulling into a paid parking space when a hand holding a small, rectangular piece of paper reached in through the window. It was a parking payment slip with more time left. I was delighted to receive this unexpected gift.
My friend in the passenger seat leaned over and realized she knew this man who showed kindness to a stranger. They hadn’t seen each other in a while and had a sweet, brief reunion. Then, I got to hear his miraculous story…
Frederick — not his real name — was unhoused less than a year ago and had been living on the streets for years. During that time, he had a dream: a dream to own an RV that would serve as his home. He started a GoFundMe campaign and created a beautiful sign to let the world know about his dream of owning an RV. Frederick stood at intersections all over Berkeley with his sign, “spanging” — street slang for asking for spare change — and promoting his GoFundMe campaign. He had raised about $4,000 toward his goal of $20,000.
One day in North Berkeley, a man and his daughter walked up to Frederick and read his sign closely. The man told Frederick that he would make a donation. The next day Frederick checked his GoFundMe page and was blown away to see that he had made a $16,000 donation!
The kindness of this angel investor didn’t stop there. This man helped Frederick to locate an RV that perfectly matched his vision, flew with him to Southern California to purchase the RV and drove back to Berkeley with him in the RV.
After Frederick finished telling his story, he proudly showed me around his home with a bathroom that turns into a shower by opening up a sliding compartment, a bed that becomes a couple of couches and a mini kitchen.
The day after I met Frederick, I attended a meeting hosted by Councilmember Kesarwani at the Berkeley Adult School. In the past couple of months, about 70 unhoused people have moved into the West Berkeley neighborhood within one block of the school. Forty-three people moved into permanent supportive housing at the Golden Bear Inn, run by Bay Area Community Services (BACS) and twenty-seven people moved into temporary housing at the Berkeley Inn run by the Dorothy Day House.
The purpose of the meeting was to address concerns from the housed community since these new neighbors arrived. The most encouraging part of the meeting was an animated discussion about how to welcome these new neighbors into the community, knowing that the more people are invested and feel part of a community, the more they take pride and care in it. A block party was one of several ideas suggested to cultivate connections between old and new neighbors. A spokesperson from Kesarwani’s office said that they are excited to collaborate with Dorothy Day House, BACS and the neighbors to create events and opportunities where relationships can be cultivated and an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence can thrive. There’s talk of a spring event, stay tuned!
As the eviction moratorium ends in the coming months, our vehicle dwelling community will likely grow. Let’s open our minds and hearts to this reality and ensure these neighbors and their homes are treated with dignity and respect.
May these stories inspire you toward random acts of kindness, optimism of what we can create together in Berkeley and chutzpah! May we all find the combination of courage and nerve to have a conversation based in curiosity and compassion with an unhoused person we pass on the street.
This article first published in the Berkeley Times on March 9, 2023.
