ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen has been covering the homelessness issues in St. Louis for decades by speaking directly to people who are without permanent shelter. He recently tried to help one homeless man in downtown, but was met with a tough decision.
Killeen told the story to the Charlie Brennan Show with Amy Marxkors on Wednesday, saying he noticed a man wearing only socks and open-toe sandals while temperatures have been in the teens and single-digits in St. Louis.
"He's a very aggressive beggar, but he’s a nice guy and soft spoken," Killeen says of the man often seen begging outside City Hall, near the intersection of Tucker and Market. "I kinda had a burden and said, 'Killeen, give him a pair of old boots and some clean white socks."
Killeen says on Tuesday he tried to give the man the boots and socks, but he was no where to be found. He asked others in the area and they said, "Little Rags" had to go to the hospital because of frostbite.
But just as Killeen was about to leave, Little Rags appeared. He called to the man recently out of the hospital and offered the boots.
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"I said, 'I got some boots for you, I want to give you some boots,'" Killeen says. "And then he said, 'Oh man, I don't want your boots. I really want to get high. Can you just give me $5?'"
Killeen responded, "'No.' I don't even think I had a dollar on me. But I said, 'You've got to put some boots on.'"
He says Little Rags replied saying, "My feet are already purple."
Then Killeen says the man asked if he could take the boots and sell them to the money.
"I said no, and this is where I thought, 'Did I do the right thing?" Killeen says. "I just thought in my little It's a Wonderful Life mind, I thought he was going to say, 'Oh, thank you for the boots, you'll help me get to spring.' And it would be like that, but for him to say no, I just didn't know how to take that."
Killeen told him if he changes his mind, he'll still have the boots for him.
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Killeen has spoken with "Little Rags" in previous coverage of the issues with homelessness in St. Louis. His background is not know.
According to AddictionCenter.com, 33% of homeless people battle mental illness, which "often leads to drug and alcohol abuse."
St. Partick Center in St. Louis is working with city leaders to open a "intentional" homeless encampment just north of downtown. That plan calls for "special mental health, job training and other services" for those who live in the camp, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Some good Samaritans and city agencies are working to help the homeless find shelter amid the bitter cold. Fox 2 reports, there's a warming bus located near 13 Street and Chestnut that will transport people nearby homeless shelters.
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