A woman’s life is about to change thanks to an Action News Jax story.
It was less than a year ago that Laleta McClure was homeless, living in a shelter or in a motel.
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“It’s been very humbling,” she told Action News Jax Investigator Emily Turner, “not knowing when everything is going to turn up, and how it’s going to turn out, but just knowing I just have to keep pushing forward.”
Since March, she’s worked hard to get herself an apartment, a job, and a new life. She’s committed to keeping everything she’s fought so hard for, so she makes sure to leave for work three hours early. She wants to make sure she’s on time, even if her bus isn’t.
RELATED: See our first story with McClure
In our initial story with McClure, Action News showed that most, if not almost all, of the bus routes run by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority fall short of its on-time standards. Records show Laleta’s bus is only on time about 70% of the time. Sometimes it doesn’t show up at all.
“It’s taxing physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially,” she told us in our initial story.
Local business owner, Jeremy Mines, saw that story. He reached out to Action News Jax to get her contact and hopefully make a difference.
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“She told me what her story was,” Mines said, “and maybe that’s really what touched me. I don’t know, before I even knew the story, I just wanted to reach out and help. "
He set up a GoFundMe for her to buy a car and donated $2,000 of his own money to kick it off.
“I wasn’t always a business owner,” he said. “I wasn’t always stable. And I know how rough it can be, depending on somebody else to get you from point A to point B.”
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Jeremy set the goal at $10,000, but McClure said he’s already changed her life. With the purchase of a car, JTA will be losing a customer, but for McClure, it’s a much appreciated win.
“You really changed my life,” she tells Mines, “a helping hand up … more than I could even imagine. Because I know what it’s like to be sleeping at the shelter.”
“I think this is a God’s blessing for the journey that I’ve just come through,” she said.
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