“I used to wake up angry at myself and the world, for no real reason,” shares Mark. Homeless for years, he admits he’s made mistakes and pushed people away.

The first time he visited the food shelf in a church parking lot where he often slept, he was asked to leave before receiving food for swearing at someone in line. “The guy that I was cussing out came out of the church and gave me his sack of food,” he shares. “And then I decided, maybe I should make it up to them. The next day I volunteered and I stopped hating and started loving.”

Every Friday Mark shares laughter and togetherness as he and his new found “family” set up the food shelf. “I help put up cones, direct traffic, and basically do any heavy lifting,” he chuckles. “You take those lemons, you make lemonade, and pretty soon the sourness turns to sweetness and you go from there.”