NAHANT — For one town resident, the mission to help the homeless and the impoverished began with a calling to do more in his community.
Leighton O’Connor, who also spends time as a pastor in Lynnfield, has had a lengthy history assisting the homeless. He says he’s been involved in several elements of service since he was in his early 20’s. He took a moment to reflect on his efforts so far.
“God put it in my heart to do a six-month mission trip to help the homeless in 30 cities across North America,” he recalled.
In 2018, O’Connor founded Mission for Hope, a nonprofit organization that is committed to providing care and support for those experiencing homelessness. The goal is to shed light on the homelessness crisis throughout the United States, according to its website.
After he felt the call to serve others, he outfitted his Jeep to suit the needs of the mission. He subsequently went across the country, where he said he was able to visit 46 major cities throughout the United States where homelessness is most prevalent. According to O’Connor, the plan was simple; he’d establish a date and time in the city he’d be visiting, and other local volunteers would arrive in their donation-filled Jeeps.
“There was one time where a group of volunteers met with me in the parking lot of a Walmart in New Orleans,” he explained. “Their Jeeps were filled with clothes, food, hygiene products, and they’d go out and give it to the homeless.”
Some of the notable places O’Connor and his team have traveled to in order to help those in need are Alaska, San Diego, San Francisco, Skid Row in Los Angeles, Miami, and several others. O’Connor said that most outreach programs occurred on the weekends, and in-between serving different communities, he would spend most nights of the week sleeping in his Jeep in different places around the country.
“During the weekend, however, I’d sleep in my Jeep a lot,” O’Connor explained. “I’ve slept by places like the Grand Canyon, or Alaska, for example. So, I got to sleep in different places and post photos and people would follow my journey online.”
He recounted one time where his efforts made a huge impact on himself and those he committed to serving. “There was one time where I was giving out clothes and different items, and a 50-year-old homeless veteran was celebrating his birthday,” he said. “We had a cake that was donated, and we all gathered and sang ‘happy birthday’ to him. It was really moving, and just a special moment.”
A different element of his work is centered around quelling the stigma that the public may have about the homeless. “People think that some homeless people are lazy, or that they don’t want to work, but that’s not the case,” he explained. “Some people just have a really hard time, they can’t afford their rent, or they can’t afford their medication, so a lot of the time they have to choose what they pay for,. There’s a lot more that goes into it, and we’re working to reduce that stigma that people might have.”
According to O’Connor, going out and finding different ways to help your community has never been easier. “People can go online, they can find a nearby soup kitchen, there’s so many ways people can get involved and make a difference. People just have to look.”
