Homeless Man Seeks Shelter under my Travel Trailer

Last night I was parked with my travel trailer and truck at a business, in Texas, near Austin, that allows RVers to park there free overnight.

All afternoon a homeless man sat on the curb two parking spots over from me, alternately, drinking beer and sleeping.

Then the wind started to blow and it started to rain a bit and get colder and he left.

After dark the man showed up at my door, knocking, with a bicycle and told me he was going to be camped behind my trailer. He asked if he could lean his bicycle up against mine, where I had my locked in back, so it would look like his was locked there too. I said it was ok. I asked if he would be camped on the grass or the pavement. He said the pavement and asked me if I had an extra blanket. I said I did not, but told him I had a tarp. He said he would take that. I asked this homeless man where he got the bicycle, that he didn't have it this afternoon. It looked brand new. He said someone had been watching it for him.

I was a little afraid but I kept asking myself--What would Jesus have me do?

I opened the door and gave him the tarp and asked him a few questions.

About an hour later I went outside to check on him and he was actually sleeping under the end part of my travel trailer on top of cardboard with my tarp on top of him.

I needed to move my trailer early this morning, so I was not sure that was a good thing.

But I left him there and thought I would just wait till he moved, in the morning.

Then about another hour later I heard lots of commotion. I opened the door and looked outside and there was a light and he was kneeling down with his jackets opened. I asked if he was alright, he said he was. This really worried me because I was running propane for heat and I didn't know if he was lighting something with matches or what.

I decided to call law enforcement and have them come check on him and relocate him somewhere safe.

In the meantime, I guess this business had also called law enforcement and asked for them to have this man leave because he was not camped in a safe place and they didn't want to be responsible if something happened to him.

The police came. They were very kind to him and took their time with him. They explained to him that this small town had no resources for homeless people. They told him he could find some other place out of the wind and rain and they would not bother him but not in a parking lot, where it was dangerous. They told him he could sleep at the sheltered area at the post office across the street till people started coming to work at 3am or wherever he could find a place that he wanted that was safe.

The police told him of an all night Whataburger where he could get coffee. The homeless man told the police he had a few dollars. They ran his out of state ID and there was no problem with it.

The homeless man took the tarp with him. I hope he was able to find some place to sleep last night. He told me and the police that he was riding this bike to san antonio tomorrow, which is today.
he was.