FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — A woman took a picture of a man sleeping in a Georgia McDonald's and posted a negative Facebook rant about him.
According to Atlanta's WSB-TV, it turns out he is a homeless father who was resting between his shifts at the Fayette County fast-food restaurant.
The community saw the woman's post and is now helping this man by donating hotel rooms and clothing for him and his child.
A woman took a picture of a man asleep at a McDonalds and complained on Facebook, and how the community responded changed his life forever.
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) June 24, 2019
"I'm not homeless, not now, thanks to her."
@ 11 #Nightbeat pic.twitter.com/OFQ6iYRu5r
WSB-TV's Matt Johnson found the father, Simon Childs, and spoke to him Monday.
"I've been going through a hard time with my mom passing," he said.
The 21-year-old recently lost his mother and is raising his young son.
"Everything I do, I want to work for it," he said.
When he heard about the photo posted on Facebook, he was hurt.
"It kind of hurt to see my picture up there, you know?" he said. "I thought it was something negative and nobody would care about it."
But he was positively shocked when he came back to work and saw piles of donated diapers for his son, supplies and clothes.
"They changed my life in a couple of days," he said.
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Chefs Xavier and Theo Thomas own the Fusion Chefs Eatery down Glynn Street South.
"It just touched our heart," Xavier Thomas said.
The Thomases' new restaurant afforded them an opportunity to reach out to Childs to let him borrow a car for job interviews.
"It definitely will help him get around and give him a better opportunity," Theo Thomas said.
Childs said he holds no ill will toward the woman behind the Facebook post.
"I'm not homeless, not now, thanks to her," he said.
He looks forward to getting back on his feet in new, bright pink shoes, donated to him in exactly the right size.
"I didn't think the community would even care enough to do that, but they care," he said.
Johnson spoke to the woman who made the Facebook post, and she told him off camera that she never intended to shame any one person in particular and she posted it in a private group.
Childs said he has received job offers since the photo was posted and is excited to possibly get a permanent place for him and his son to live.
Cox Media Group
