Meet the black Chicago woman who rented the hotel rooms for homeless people during the cold wave

[pnwmom]

Last edited Sat Feb 2, 2019, 11:24 PM - Edit history (12)

This 34 year old, a self-described "little black girl from the South Side," used Instagram to get volunteer drivers and put the rooms on her damn credit card.



ON UPDATE: And a shout out to the Amber Inn, the only place out of dozens Candice called that would take them -- and eventually even lowered their price.

And her husband also should get credit (finally read that in the Chicago Tribune article) for helping her organize all this.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/candice-payne-homeless-in-chicago-candice-payne-hotel-rooms-polar-vortex-cold/

A Chicago woman's act of kindness helped homeless people stay warm during this week's dangerous polar vortex. Candice Payne impulsively charged 20 hotel rooms on her credit card before it snowballed into a lifesaving effort by a group of strangers, CBS Chicago reports.

Payne booked the hotel rooms after realizing how life-threatening the sub-zero temperatures would be for the Chicagoans without homes. She posted about it on social media and soon the donations and offers to help bring food came flooding in.

"Maybe they didn't know how to or where to start to help, so I'm glad that I was able to be that vehicle," she told CBS Chicago.

On Wednesday, when temperatures plummeted to 22 degrees below zero, a group of homeless people had to abandon their tents near a highway after a propane tank they used as a source of heat exploded. But Payne and other volunteers dug deep into their pockets and picked up the tab for 60 rooms at a hotel on Chicago's South Side.

SNIP


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/us/candice-payne-homeless-chicago.html

The broker, Candice Payne, 34, said it was a “spur-of-the-moment” decision to help. “It was 50 below, and I knew they were going to be sleeping on ice and I had to do something,” she said on Saturday.

Ms. Payne contacted hotels and found 30 rooms available at the Amber Inn for Wednesday night at $70 per room. Temperatures in Chicago reached lows of minus 25 and minus 26 on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

After Ms. Payne paid for the rooms on a credit card, she asked on her Instagram account for anyone who could help transport the homeless people. Soon she had a caravan of cars, S.U.V.s and vans with volunteer drivers.

SNIP

Ms. Payne met two pregnant women and a family of five in the first group of homeless people who went to the inn.

“We had to accommodate everyone. It was really overwhelming,” Ms. Payne said. “They were so appreciative. They couldn’t wait to get in a bath and lay in a bed.”

SNIP

“I am a regular person,” Ms. Payne said. “It all sounded like a rich person did this, but I’m just a little black girl from the South Side. I thought it was unattainable, but after seeing this and seeing people from all around the world, that just tells me that it’s not that unattainable. We can all do this together.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-met-cold-weather-homeless-hotel-donors-20190131-story.html

Payne said she and her husband were familiar with the homeless camp near Roosevelt Road and Des Plaines Avenue because they passed it every time they went to get on the nearby Dan Ryan Expressway. When temperatures plunged, they worried that the city and charitable organizations wouldn't have the resources to get the homeless community out of the cold.

“We wanted to get as much of them out of there as possible,” said Payne, who works in real estate.

The couple and some friends drove by the homeless camp Tuesday night and took those they could persuade to leave to the Amber Inn at 39th Street and Michigan Avenue, renting 20 rooms at about $70 a piece. Payne had called dozens of hotels, and the Amber Inn was the only place that would take them.

[democratisphere]

1. Candice Payne is an exceptional human. Nice that she was able to attract

other like minded generous people.

[Power 2 the People]

5. +1

[underpants]

2. Just wow.

Outstanding

[ibegurpard]

3. Amazing

What's upsetting to me about this story is that individuals like this are left trying to plug holes that our collective societal attitudes and actions have left gaping. No one should be on the streets. Ever.

[George II]

4. These are the things that renew one's hope for humanity. Now THAT is a caravan even trump....

....can't bash (although he will!)

This is one of the best stories I've read in a long, long time.

[Dem2theMax]

6. Candice Payne is a real hero.

One person started a chain of Wonderful. Boy, today was a good day to read this story. I needed a dose of true humanity.

I hope good karma follows this woman for the rest of her life. She sure has earned it. And I think she taught us all a lesson. One person really can make a huge difference. Especially when others follow right behind her.

[pnwmom]

8. She is a natural born community organizer. Maybe she needs to run for Mayor or something.

As a start . . .

[Dem2theMax]

16. Now there's an idea.

And what you said: 'as a start,' is perfect.

[sheshe2]

21. Candice Payne, definitely.

Also the Amber Inn that was the only one that agreed to give them shelter.

[oberliner]

7. This was such a great story

Thanks for sharing!

[pnwmom]

9. You're welcome! Stories like hers are really inspiring. n/t

[oberliner]

10. There are so many people who truly just want to help other people

Sadly they get lost among the noise a lot of the time.

[Demovictory9]

11. +1000

[Stuart G]

12. K and R...amazing story...the best..Thank You for sharing...

[kacekwl]

13. You mean to tell me the

TRUMP hotel would not take them in.

[Scarsdale]

34. Great question!

Don't they have many rooms available these days?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

14. Bravo! Thanks for sharing!!!

[SunSeeker]

15. K & R

[proud patriot]

17. Amber Inn needs praises too

"Amber Inn is the only one who would take them"

[Stuart G]

19. Yes!.That place had the rooms, and that place took them in. k and r.your post..proud patriot

[Lars39]

24. Here's their contact info to thank them:

https://www.theamberinn.com/contact-us/

[Oppaloopa]

36. Just did thanks

[proud patriot]

40. Awesome thanks

[whathehell]

18. Beautiful story..

Good to read.

[Adrahil]

20. Wow! How inspiring and humbling! NT

[Honeycombe8]

22. She's an angel.

I hope she can pay her credit card.

[Cha]

23. Bless Candice Payne's heart and all those

who had a hand in helping her!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. Wow.

I do volunteer work at my local homeless shelter. I fix meals and serve them to the homeless. I love doing it for very many reasons, not the least is how very appreciative our clients are.

I've been doing this for several years now. I see some of the same people over and over, and while I never quite know their exact stories, I kind of get it.

When I was young we were very poor and the only reason I got desperately needed dental work was through charity. For which I'm eternally grateful. More to the point, without certain kinds of help we might possibly have wound up homeless.

Here's the background story. I'm one of six children. My father was an alcoholic who was becoming more and more abusive. My mother was a nurse, which meant she knew she could get work anywhere. My older brother graduated high school and enlisted in the army. But things at home with the other five kids got worse. Mom realized she had to get us away from Dad. And she did. She packed us up in a '59 VW bus (the middle seat was long since missing) and we drove from northern NYS to Tucson, AZ.

She quickly found work at a hospital and we settled in. But things were financially tight, to say the least. A year later I had a weekend babysitting job and I used the money to buy groceries. The mom I babysat for was astonished when I asked her to stop at a grocery store when she was driving me home, so I could buy what was needed for meals. I couldn't imagine spending the money on myself, not when to do so meant my brothers and sisters would go hungry.

Here's the point. When it comes to the basics, it's vital we help each other out. Which is why, although I haven't paid for hotel rooms in the cold snap (and to be fair to me, I don't live where it's been so terribly cold) I do what I can locally.

Although this story is making me re-think my priorities.

[pnwmom]

26. Your story is just as wonderful as Candice's PoindexterOglethorpe. Thank you so much for sharing it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. You are welcome.

I am amazed every single time I do my stint at the homeless shelter at how rewarding it is. I want to encourage everyone to consider something like this, even though I fully understand it is not for everyone.

Here's the back story. Several years ago some friends of mine approached me very cautiously. "We want to ask you something," they said, "but you don't have to do it and that's okay."

"What?" I asked, not understanding their hesitance. It turned out that what they wanted me to do was to help out with their church's Hot Water Ministry, which was serving a hot meal and offering showers and clothing to the homeless on Sunday afternoons in the summer at that time. I was not a member of any church, and I was extremely happy they asked me, because I know that this is exactly the sort of thing churches do, and that because I wasn't a church member I had little chance to participate. I LOVED doing the Hot Water Ministry. There was no requirement to believe or to participate in services. People simply needed to show up to get a meal, a shower, and clean clothes. I got very comfortable working in the church kitchen. I loved fixing meals and serving them. Oh, and one of the people who regularly showed up actually belonged to a different Christian denomination, and I didn't know that for about a year. Which is one of the truly wonderful things about this city. Santa Fe, NM, in case you care.

A couple of years later the local interfaith community acquired a property to serve meals provide services, as well as overnight accommodations in the winter to the local homeless, and so that particular church ended the Hot Water Ministry. To be honest, the fact that the congregation was aging and was having trouble recruiting enough volunteers to provide the Ministry was an issue.

And the declining population has continued to be an issue. We used to be able to do a full week of serving meals in the winter, but recently can do three or four days at the most. However, there are many other faith groups who more than take up the slack.

I simply want to emphasize how gratifying this work is. I am not a person of faith. I had the good fortune to make friends with some people who belong to a particular local faith group who got me to join with them in this work. It is wonderful. I am not someone who has a strong faith or belief, and I strongly respect those who do. More to the point, you don't have to be a member of a faith group to do this sort of thing. Just find out if there's a homeless shelter in your community and call them up and ask what they need.

Oh, and my favorite times are when people show up who are confused about exactly when they were supposed to be there, and who are not part of our faith group. We happily embrace them and put them to work. It is truly wonderful.

I think what I most want to say is that belonging to a particular faith group isn't the point. It's the helping out that matters. I want to point out that I am not a person of faith or belief, but I want to participate in things (like helping to feed the homeless) that tend to be the purview of churches. I wish there were a better way to connect non believers like me to things like this. I was very fortunate that a couple of my closest friends belonged to a congregation that is very involved in such things. Lucky me, and I mean that.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. What can I do to help?

Is there somewhere to contribute to help pay those rooms? I can't contribute a whole lot, but I know from past experience in fund raising that small amounts add up quite quickly.

[tetedur]

29. I wonder how many billionaires and millionaires live in the Chicago area and never would have

thought of lifting a finger to help these people. Never mind I Googled it. Seventeen (17) billionaires and 3000 millionaires.

The efforts of the Payne's ought to make these people ashamed of themselves. But they have no shame. Besides, they can't put the homeless in hotels, they don't have enough money. They need more.

[raccoon]

30. I'm sure the Dotard will commend her for this.: Sarcasm:

Seriousy someone ought to, that was a wonderful thing she did.

[Mr. Quackers]

31. If Jesus were real

he would shine his grace upon this wonderful woman. We should all have a heart like this.

The Amber Inn deserves kudos too for making sure there was "room at the Inn."

[pazzyanne]

32. A true "angel of mercy"!!!

[crazycatlady]

33. what a wonderful human being

[Generic Other]

35. An angel in human form

And shame on the other hotels for rejecting her.

[Duppers]

37. Bravo for this woman!

And here's another Good Samaritan story:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142257323

[onecaliberal]

38. K&R

[Bettie]

39. I read about this

that was very kind of her...a lot of work too.

[smirkymonkey]

41. What an amazing person!

Thank you Candice!

When you think of all the millionaires and billionaires that could have done this - and they would have barely noticed the money gone that it took to pay for it - it kind of puts them to shame when an regular, big-hearted individual gave her all to help her fellow man and woman.

I am so impressed with her, but it just make me sick how the rich in this country do so little for the poor that they are robbing to enrich themselves. They always talk about charity, but never give it. Not to people who really need it anyway.