Single dad and son lived in the woods after becoming homeless—until a widow spotted them and changed their lives
Sometimes, our simplest or most common things can become a saving hope for others. Even though we believe we do not have much to offer, the sheer resolve to try and the little act of selflessness go a long way. Similarly, a widow named Mel Wood, the owner of the Hop Shop, had the simplest thing to offer, and it changed the lives of Michael Faling and his 12-year-old son, Corey Faling, per KXLY. The duo was homeless and rejected from shelters, but as soon as Wood stepped into the picture, she transformed their lives for the better. The father-son duo did not have any other housing options, and every shelter they knew of had turned them down.
It was despairing, as the duo wondered what life would look like for them. 12-year-old Corey was hurt on an emotional level. “My son would say, ‘Why doesn’t anybody like us?’ He thought we couldn’t get help because nobody liked us,” Michael remarked. Their options were to get separated so shelters could accommodate them or to somehow arrange for housing so they could live together. Michael decided to speak to Jessica Kovac, founder of Blessings Under The Bridge, a voluntary organization. “For fathers and children, sadly, there’s not a lot of options and that is the truth,” she mentioned, per News 4 Now.
The dad asked whether she could help find him a room for rent so he could be with his son. “I sent her a text, just on prayer, she feeds, but I thought maybe she knows somebody with a basement to rent because I didn’t want a handout,” Michael recounted. Kovac got to work and asked online if people had room for the father and son. Many offered monetary help, but a shelter seemed to be difficult to find—until Wood stepped in. A widow who lost her husband years ago, Wood was not too weirded out by the idea of renting her home to strangers. She had a striking reason to support her decision.
“When you have more than you need, don’t build a higher fence, build a longer table,” she said. As a mom of three, she knew well about relationships and losing loved ones after experiencing the passing of her husband. “Losing him was a new state of homelessness, and I think I’ve been trying to find my way back ever since,” she noted. She understood the father-son duo’s plight and wanted to help them get back on their feet the way she did.
Thanks to Wood’s generosity, Michael and Corey started to find a solid foundation for life. The dad focused on acquiring a job, renewing his license and figuring out a more concrete way of life. The 12-year-old, on the other hand, was delighted to find a safe place and start to live out his childhood again. Above all, he took to his heart the message that “someone cares,” and for Michael, that’s a big win. “I don’t think this should be newsworthy. I think it should just be natural. I think that’s just the way it should be,” Wood said.