Donated wood warms homeless camp

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Don's 14-by-14-foot shanty was warm -- almost too warm -- Wednesday night, thanks to donations from complete strangers.

"Not sure what kind it is, but it's really good wood," said the grandfather, admiring the freshly-split, donated wood crackling in his wood stove.

Pork chops simmered in a pan atop the stove.

Don, who is pushing 50, lives in one of about 10 shanties at North Camp, a homeless neighborhood along railroad tracks in the city of Walker.

On Wednesday, in response to a Target 8 report, a man and his son from Holland delivered a load of split wood to the camp.

A short time later, a man from Fruitport and a friend delivered another load. They are among at least a half-dozen people who have offered to supply wood to the camp.

"I saw the story and realized we had a lot of extra wood at home, thought we'd throw some in the trailer and bring some down," Troy Scharlow of Holland told 24 Hour News 8 Wednesday.

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Photos: Hidden homeless camps in winter

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"It's cold, it's cold. Heat's a tough thing to come by in the winter sometimes, even in the house we live in," he said. "This is just a little bit of wood. Hopefully it will help out for a few days and maybe somebody else can load up a trailer like we did and bring some down, too."

"They look like a community here," said his son, Braden Scharlow. "Everyone's helping each other out out here. It's nice to have somebody from the outside come in and give some help as well."

Don, who said he works odd jobs, was among the homeless men who helped unload the wood. He figured the two loads delivered on Wednesday would last a couple weeks.

This is his third winter at the camp, but he doesn't consider himself homeless. He decorates with Disney puzzles put together by his grandchildren.

"I have a home, but if it wasn't for other people, we wouldn't be here," said Don, who didn't want to give his last name. "I'd still be in a tent. But I took what was given to me and made something out of it."

On Monday, Target 8 reported about the camp's biggest need: Firewood. Don was among the homeless there who were running short.

"That's the biggest thing, is being warm," he said. "I was just thinking about that today: 'Man, I'm going to have to really bust some ass to go get some wood today,' and all of a sudden he pulls up. Actually two people pulled up."

Wednesday night, stacks of split firewood lined one wall of his home.

"That burns hot. Yes, it does, and that's only two little logs," he said. "If it wasn't for them people, it wouldn't be going. Not like that."

A few doors down, Denny Boyd and his girlfriend, Kathy, listened to music in a shanty lit only by two candles. But it was warmer. Logs were piled in a corner.

"Thank you, Jesus," Kathy said. "It was a blessing, yep. ... It was like a gift from God, it is."

Anybody else who wants to donate is asked to contact Servants Center, a local agency that works with the homeless, at 616.456.8512.