Leroy Harris’ story was on its way to being a quintessential rags to riches one.
Leroy describes his childhood growing up in Oklahoma like this, “We were dirt poor and in the country. My mother was on welfare, and we had little. Nothing,” he said. “So I learned to play the guitar and got a band and started making money, and things started looking up for me. That’s when I came to Kansas City when I finished high school.”
Leroy was a budding blues musician in a city renowned for its Jazz and Blues scene. Seemingly, there was nothing but opportunity in front of him.
But, then, it all came crashing down when his wife left him and took their twin boys with her to Memphis. Leroy fell into a slump and eventually started writing bad checks. It wasn’t long before that caught up to him, and he ended up spending roughly six years serving time in seven different prisons and jails in various towns and counties.
When he finally finished serving his time, he found reentering the world he once knew overwhelming. And, unfortunately, he ended up homeless, living on the streets of Kansas City in abandoned houses, cars and under trees. At 10 years in, he was living under a bridge. Fortunately, it was then that someone introduced him to Journey to New Life.
To say that Leroy encountering Journey to New Life set him off on a whole new Journey would be an understatement. It has completely changed his life — for the better.
Journey to New Life helped Leroy get back on track.
Leroy says Journey to New Life helped him overcome the challenges that were holding him back. It might seem simple, but getting an ID was the first step that enabled him to get on a path toward self-sufficiency and sustainability. “It’s not an easy thing to get an ID,” he said. “But it’s very essential that you have an ID because you can’t do anything. I couldn’t even get the apartment I got now without it.”
It’s very difficult. So, to have a place like this to come where people can help you is very important and very essential to a person getting back on track. Thank God for people like this at Journey to New Life. These people try to help you.
— Leroy Harris
Now, Leroy does his part to give back and build bridges for those who may need a hand up. “I take two or three days out of a week, and I make up little lunch sacks and stuff and pass them out. I pass them out on the bus, on the sidewalk, anywhere I see somebody that looks like they’re hungry,” he said. “I’ll go up and ask them, ‘You hungry?’ And if they say, ‘Yeah,’ I’ll give them one. So I enjoy what I’m doing, and a lot of it is because you guys have been helping me.”
Leroy takes every chance he gets to thank the staff at Journey to New Life for all they’ve done for him. He often leaves thank you notes around the office and drops off small gifts and sack lunches. He wants everyone to know how much he appreciates the assistance he received at Journey to New Life, and he says he prays that the organization will always be there for those who need it.
“It’s critical that you continue to do what you’re doing, and it’s critical that people will see the need to give you guys everything y’all need to continue to do this work, because you’re going to have a lot of people who come after me, and they’re going to need the same help,” he said.
