Grace In Action: Community Refuses To Give Up On Blind, Homeless Vet
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DALLAS (CBS11) - With hugs and smiles all around, Willie Curtis King, Jr. is enjoying a homecoming of sorts.
"I had thought there weren't no more really good people in the world," said King. "I was so down on my luck. But, every day, I woke up. Every day I woke up, these people helped me."
His visit to the MLK Community Center Thursday was made even more special when you consider that this time last year, King had no home. He was a card-carrying member of the angry, hard-to-help homeless, existing on the kindness of those at the center.
"I didn't have to be outside that dumpster," said King. "I was just belligerent… out of control."
Those at the MLK Center would be inclined to agree.
"I reached out to his brother," said Officer Terry Brookins. "He cursed his brother out. Everybody tried to help him; but, he refused."
But, Officer Brookins was patient… and he was persistent, telling CBS11 that it was "heartbreaking" to see the veteran "digging in the trash cans, trying to find food to eat."
But, Willie King's hard life, was about to get even harder.
"One particular night, I was closing the building," said Officer Brookins, "and he was on the sidewalk and he almost ran into me, and he said he didn't see me. And I was like, something's going on with his sight."
The now homeless veteran was going blind.
"He didn't want to hear it, " said Officer Brookins. "He didn't want to receive any help. Very belligerent. Told me to leave him alone. All sorts of things."
And Officer Brookins had plenty of company in trying to convince the salty veteran to get off the streets.
"I tried to help him, community court staff tried to help him," said dianne gibson, Community Courts Manager. "Even the VA sent a mobile unit out here with two nurses on several occasions and he just refused everybody." gibson, who spells her name with lower case lettering—says she arrived for work at the center always worried about what she might find.
"Mr. King was literally living in the parking lot," said gibson. "My greatest fear was that somebody was going to back out and not think that there's a human lying on the ground and hit him."
Still, gibson can't say enough about the Dallas officer who simply wouldn't give up. "It was cold, it was raining, and he was in the middle of the parking lot. Officer Brookins was off. He came out there, picked him up… just took him and got him something to eat." And then adding of the City of Dallas officer, "it was just his heart. Most of us said, 'okay, we tried'. Officer Brookins wouldn't give up."
Then one day, King disappeared. Of course they feared the worst… and it almost was: he'd been run over by a car, for the third time. It was a crash that probably saved his life. He says Baylor doctors discovered a grapefruit sized tumor, pressing on his brain. He survived the surgery and then "made a conscious decision then to straighten my life out, not just for myself, but for my family, too."
King now lives with his younger brother, is enjoying being reunited with his family. So instead of grit, he's full of gratitude.
"The only reason I'm still here is because of this center," sai King, "and my brother. I'd like to hug them all, all day long. I feel wonderful now."
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