A local pastor will once again spend the Thanksgiving holiday week living among Buffalo's homeless. On Monday morning, Eric Johns will embark on his 19th annual journey.
Pastor Johns will begin his trek at Buffalo Dream Center, spend some time at a local soup kitchen and then, from Monday through Saturday, live on the streets of Buffalo. He'll sleep under bridges, in parks and at other locations where many others without a home spend their nights.
Four years ago, he came close to ending his annual outing.
"I announced back in 2013 that I was going to retire and pass the baton on to someone else," Johns recalled. "But all that year, after that announcement, people would approach me - even strangers - and say we really wish you were still doing it."
Johns added that he came to realize that his annual trek isn't something that he does but, rather, who he is.
He will not be alone this year. Last year, is then future son-in-law joined him on the streets. This year, two of his sons-in-law will take up the journey.
In addition to spending time with some of Buffalo's most downtrodden, Johns utilizes this yearly mission to raise support for his Christmas project, Boxes of Love, which provides care packages to local families in need. This year's project is expected to serve 3,000 local families.
"We'll have over a thousand volunteers from the Western New York area and from out of state that will come in, wraps gifts, pack bags of food," Johns said. "Then we'll have distribution sites, all throughout Buffalo, Niagara Falls, the Western New York area, where families can receive what we call a Box of Love."
And as for those who urged him to keep going four years ago? WBFO asked Johns if he has noticed whether others have backed their words with their actions on the streets.
"Even going down to the downtown bus station and the parks surrounding it, there are different church groups, different agencies and just individual people that are down there almost every night, helping the homeless with blood pressure checks, sugar level checks and giving out food, giving out hot chocolate in the winter," he said.
