Cars and buses whizz past on Michigan Street as Pastor Eric Johns leads his crew to a spot under an overpass. He shouts “hello” and waves at a man across the road who waves back at him from his tent.
He then looks at his team and says, “This is where it all began,” pointing at the steep brick-paved hill that leads to the little pockets under the bridge.
It is not a homeless crisis, but a housing crisis, according to the Erie County. An increase in the number of people without housing, particularly families, has led Erie County to use more hotels for them.
Twenty-five years ago, Johns began sleeping under bridges and overpasses – and in shelters – and frequenting soup kitchens during Thanksgiving week to raise awareness about the needs of the homeless and working poor.
A pastor at the Buffalo Dream Center for more than three decades, Johns remembers the exact moment when he decided to partake in this unparalleled project in Buffalo.
“I was actually driving my van through Delaware Avenue. This was a moment in my life when I felt like God spoke to me so clearly, ‘Go live with the homeless people,’ ” he recalled Wednesday while sitting down with a cup of coffee to rest after spending his third night of the week on the street.
Following his…
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