Pastor asks for the community's help housing a homeless man
Pastor Lawrence Levy III is enlisting the help of the community to help turn a homeless man's tragedy into triumph.
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Pastor Lawrence Levy III is enlisting the help of the community to help turn a homeless man's tragedy into triumph. Pastor Levy tells News ten he picked up a homeless 32-year-old Black man by a dumpster off University. The individual was addicted to heroin.
"Seeing him sweat profusely. I have seen drops of sweat and I just simply went around the corner and asked him what was going on? What was his need," he said, "And I knew at that moment the way he was looking and the things that I could see with the sun beating down like that this man was possibly not far from death.”
The pastor helped the man into his truck and drove him to UMC hospital to be treated. After being treated, the man reached out to Pastor Levy for help. Pastor Levy explains he took the man to rehab where he detoxed for 4-5 days at Vermilion Behavior Center Health Care.
“He told me he would love to continue the journey of becoming somebody better if he can just continually have a support system,” said Levy. “If we don’t know what the community needs are and we only care about what the church needs, then at the end of the day we’re not building people we’re building a building or we’re building whatever we feel like is beneficial to us.”
The man is now housed in a hotel, being checked on by the pastor and other members of the church daily. They were even able to help him find employment, but he does not work enough hours to afford to stay in the hotel.
“I don’t want to toss him back out into the street. I don’t want to let him go because I do believe if I let him go without a solid foundation of understanding how to stand on his own, he’s going to end up back on drugs and possibly dead,” Levy said. "This was a miracle to me only God can do, and I'm asking the community to help us out to keep him at least for a couple more weeks in this hotel."
News ten requested to speak to the man but Pastor Levy says he is shy and hurt about where he is today. The man is no longer on drugs. He has an education in welling.
“He’s a great individual. He desires to work. He doesn’t want to be codependent on somebody else, he wants to be independent,” said the pastor.
However, due to a lack of love and support from his family, he turned to substance abuse. Today, he is a changed man willing to become better for himself and his children.
"These are people that I believe need a helping hand and some of them a second chance, and he's willing to do as much as he can to get back on his feet,” said Levy.
You can donate with Zelle at Pastor Lawrence Levy's number at (678)-799-5712 or cashapp at FWMWORLDWIDE or PayPal at LAWRENCETHE3RD.