Jamie Gipson knows what it’s like to try to go to sleep in a parked car, with no where else to go.
It happened more than once while Gipson was growing up. Her parents faced multiple evictions, forcing their family of six to pack what belongings they could carry and come up with a plan for how they would get by until they could find a solution to their predicament.
It didn’t help that Gipson began to increasingly suffer injuries as she got older, leading to a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder that weakens the tissue holding her body’s joints together, making it easier for her to suffer serious injuries.
Gipson recalled sitting in a hospital one day wondering why her life was so miserable when she saw two young boys having a race down the hallway despite not having legs.
“I saw these little boys racing without legs and I thought, ‘What am I complaining about?'” Gipson said.
It was such experiences in mind that Gipson changed her view on life and would later ask herself how she could help others who were also struggling to get by.
Today, Gipson is the director of Kind Human 4 Human Kind, a charity based in the Blue Water Area that provides aid to those in need, be they homeless, hungry or otherwise.
Volunteers for the organization may prepare survival bags for the homeless, help those with children get access to school or baby supplies, or deliver furnishing to someone who has just been able to find a home.
Much of the organization’s work collecting donations is coordinated online.
Kind Human 4 Human Kind’s Facebook page has become a key tool for allowing people with specific needs find those who are able to provide a donation. Expectant parents who can’t afford baby supplies, for example, can receive help from other families.
“They made the biggest difference for me and my daughter both,” said Richard Alexander, a Port Huron resident who received assistance from Kind Human 4 Human Kind.
Alexander recently obtained custody of his 4-year-old daughter Aleah, but was struggling to prepare a home for the two of them that was properly furnished. A case worker at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reached out to Kind Human 4 Human Kind. The organization provided him with a couch, a bed, clothes for his daughter, and everything else to cover his needs. The donations made the difference between coming home to a full house and an empty one.
“I was completely taken aback that there was help for single fathers like this,” Alexander.
The charity also regularly hands out survival bags to homeless individuals and families that contain items they may not otherwise have access to, including hygienic supplies, first aid, and winter clothing.
“All of this work is unpaid. We do it in our own time,” Gipson said.
Gipson and her family have made charity work a bonding activity for more than 10 years. It began when her daughter, upon being asked what she wanted for her upcoming birthday, suggested they should instead spend the money for gifts to help others.
Kind Human 4 Human Kind became a formal charity in 2023. In part, it was out of necessity. Gipson’s husband pointed out she had spent around $50,000 on gasoline by driving around to collect and deliver donations, an expense that could be a tax write off if they were recognized as a nonprofit organization.
Shortly after, other organizations such as local churches and law enforcement began reaching out asking to work with them. Every three months volunteers help put together the nonprofit’s survival kits, averaging about 3,800 items given out to those in need.
The nonprofit’s next major event is The Spirit of Giving Day, which they will be hosting with the Grace Episcopal Church at 1213 Sixth St. in Port Huron from noon to 5 p.m. on Dec. 7.
The event will provide free gifts, including toys, clothing, shoes, household items and holiday decorations.
The names of those who receive help are rarely shared. Gipson said several are embarrassed by their circumstances. Some donors, she said, are suspicious that people may be exaggerating their needs to get goods they could afford themselves, but in Gipson’s experience the opposite is true.
Gipson recalled helping a man who had found an apartment to rent after a long struggle with homelessness. Kind Human 4 Human Kind provided or arranged donations to fully furnish the home, but while they were dropping off the goods, she noticed he was acting distant.
It was as if, she said, the man didn’t believe his donations were actually free, and he was waiting to find out the catch, to learn too late he had been tricked into their debt.
“They’re nervous, they don’t trust the world and think it’s a scam,” Gipson said. “Some people worry homeless people will take advantage of help, but the truth is it’s not easy tor the recipients to ask.”
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In Gipson’s experience, once people see the difference even a small donation can make for somebody, they become less worried about being taken advantage of and more focused on how else they can help.
In October, volunteers did outreach at the Mid City Nutrition soup kitchen when several people asked them to relay messages to their donors.
“Can you please let everyone know that none of us want to be homeless?” one woman asked. “I work. I don’t do drugs. I just can’t find affordable housing.”
Another woman, unable to walk, added: “I never thought this could happen to me. I worked my whole life. But then I got sick. Then I lost my legs. And now I’m asking a stranger for a blanket.”
Homelessness is a growing issue in Port Huron, with charities like Kind Human 4 Human Kind reporting they’ve seen an increase in homelessness since the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, particularly among the elderly.
In January 2023, the St. Clair County Community Services Coordinating Body, an organization that helps inform 75 charities in the county to reduced redundant efforts and collect data, counted 133 homeless individuals in Port Huron, including 92 adults and 41 children. In July, that number was up to 184 people.
That increase came entirely from adults, who rose to include 150 homeless people, while the number of homeless children actually dropped to 34. The problem was compounded, in part, by the closure of the Blue Water Area Rescue Mission in March 2022, leaving the area with no shelter beds for men until it reopened in December 2023. Gipson said she’s unaware of any shelters in Port Huron for families.
“No one seems to have enough money to get by right now,” Gipson said. “Anything food stamps doesn’t buy, they do without.”
Gipson says her own family has struggled to make ends meet as inflation saw prices rising around them. During an interview her arm was in a sling, the result of an injury related to her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It didn’t change the fact she was going to help move furniture and other heavy objects to a private property.
Gipson learned a long time ago, she said, it’s too easy to wallow in self-pity when the key to feeling better is often to help others.
“As a community, we have to decide these people have value,” she said.
Residents can make donations and request assistance at http://kindhuman4humankind.org/.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
