It’s people like Charles that inspired Beth Ross to create Blanket Tampa Bay. 

"I found Charles alone on a bus bench.  A bus was unloading as I parked, and I watched as the people hurried past him, purposefully not making eye contact because he was a “bum.”  With my arms loaded with blankets, water, and snacks, I knew I could provide more than material things, I could give him a connection. After seeing him there two days in a row, unmoved and unwell, I knew he needed even more. 

The next day I called a friend of mine who works with the Sheriff’s Department. Charles was sent to St. Joseph’s Hospital where they discovered he was suffering from a broken hip and kidney failure. Doctors quickly repaired his hip and worked to restore his kidney function. He spent several weeks in the hospital before going to a rehab facility. 

His caregivers learned that Charles had worked for the Pinellas County Schools for more than 30 years and had accumulated a hard-earned pension. Social workers helped Charles file for his retirement and Social Security, and now he lives on his own in a warm, safe apartment.

Doctors said if we had not found Charles when we did, he would have died on that bench." - Beth Ross

Making life saving connections... 

Jack

"Meet Jack, he has one good leg and was given a prosthetic leg but no therapy on how to walk with it on. Jack lived under a bridge and his wheelchair was in horrible condition, so I contacted the Shriners who supplied us with a brand-new wheelchair for Christmas!

Jack was thrilled!

After this picture was taken, I was contacted by a woman asking if I knew where he stayed. I told her all I knew was that he lived under a bridge and showed up every Monday when we served at St. Peter Claver church on Monday nights.

After she asked a few more times I wanted to know why she wanted to know. She told me that her husband was his son and had been looking for his father for years.

I soon found out they were reunited, and Jack is off the streets now."

- Beth Ross