Hi! My name is Ali and I’m 22 years old from Merrick. For those that know the area, it is extremely uncommon to see a homeless person in our town; as we are very fortunate and blessed. These past few weeks I noticed the man pictured above with a load of belongings sleeping on the bench at the Merrick train station. Yesterday I decided to approach him with a bag full of toiletries, food and water. I returned later in the evening with an air mattress, pillow, as well as an inflater / deflater pump. He was thankful but was fearful of being mugged , & this morning I noticed that he had left the air mattress on the opposite side of the street where he was sleeping on another bench. I had a long conversation with him and learned that he had lost his job during the pandemic & used to reside in Wantagh; until he was mugged a few weeks ago and had to be taken to a hospital. For obvious reasons, he did not want to return there so he took the train to Merrick as it is close by. I offered him my phone to contact any family & he told me he has none; which absolutely shattered my heart. I wanted to buy him dinner but he assured me that he was full & had already eaten. If anyone has the kindness in their heart to either share this link or donate it would be beyond appreciated. 100% of the funds raised will go directly to this man, and I plan on visiting him weekly at the train where he resides.

Thank you for taking the time to read this god bless ❤️❤️❤️