Buffalo, NY (WBEN) For the 23rd year, Pastor Eric Johns of the Buffalo Dream Center is once again hitting the streets to live among the homeless for a week. Johns says, as a result, more awareness about the plight of the homeless has resulted over the years.
Johns will leave his house Monday morning through Saturday. "I will be with my friends on the streets, spending some time with the homeless of the city of Buffalo," says Johns. "We started it 23 years ago to raise awareness of the needs that are in the city and we ended up giving Christmas gifts to 200 kids that first year." He says it has grown to gifts for 5,000 kids.
Johns says he's met new people over the years. "There's a younger crowd than there used to be and, we've met more women who are on the streets," notes Johns.
He says awareness for the homeless has grown over the years. "The agencies in Buffalo work together so well. That wasn't the case 23 years ago, and now there are a lot of people at the grass roots level helping people find apartments, getting them into programs, and we're all touching the effort in some different way," says Johns.
He says he does need help in his food drive effort. "Our biggest need right now is cereal. We need 2,000 boxes right now," says Johns. He says other non-perishable food will be accepted. He's also looking for toys to give to thousands of children this holiday.
Johns says the pandemic has helped his campaign run more efficiently. "We learned some things along the way," notes Johns. "We're looking at helping more families than last year. The pandemic caused more people to be in need, and last year we saw people standing in line for food for the first time."
This weekend volunteers handed out their 1 millionth pound of food.
