You never quite know what is going to happen from one day to the next. You think it is just going to be a normal day, but suddenly you may be in the middle of some type of life-changing event.
Danielle McDuff is someone who understands this all too well. She lives in a small town in Canada and she saw a 60-year-old homeless man sitting outside of the pharmacy. He always had his hat out asking for donations but he never asked for money. He just read a book quietly and would talk to anyone who wanted to talk.
Danielle had seen him before and on this particular day, she was running errands. She decided that she would stop and talk to him and she found out his name was Brian Bannister. He lived in Newcastle, Ontario in an unheated shed, even though it was bitterly cold outside.
After talking with him, Danielle learned that Brian’s life had gone downhill and he had essentially given up. She knew that she had to help, and she knew how to do it.
She hired Brian on the spot. Danielle is a farmer, and she has plenty of work to do so the next morning she picked him up and they went out to her farm.
They took care of the cattle, horses, and goats and tended to anything else that needed to be done. He was a hard worker and he was very grateful for the support she provided.
He got emotional and he said that it was overwhelming and that he couldn’t believe anyone would care for him that much. Within a few weeks, it was obvious that he was a permanent part of the farm. He had not missed a single shift and she even took him for his first haircut, gave him a phone, and helped him to get financial support from the government.
Danielle is not able to take care of Brian completely because she doesn’t make much as a farmer. She set up a crowdfunding page and the support was overwhelming.
The fundraiser brought enough money that he could stay at a hotel and get off the streets. Since that time, she has learned more about how he ended up on the streets. He’s a recovering addict, twice widowed, and has had much loss in his life.
Eventually, he had a difficult time putting one foot in front of the other but with Danielle’s help, he is doing better.