08/25/2026
Have your tissues ready for this one! ❤️
I started writing this story this morning, and I am so glad I got too busy to post it because sometime between this morning and this afternoon, it turned into an even better story.
You have to read this one all the way to the END!
Early Sunday morning, someone rang the front doorbell at our Shelter Home. When our staff member Jonah got to the door, he found a sweet older gentleman standing there with a cane and an envelope clenched in his hand.
He handed the envelope to Jonah and asked him to make sure it got to me.
Monday morning, it was sitting on my desk.
Inside was a check and a handwritten note:
Jodi,
Don’t know how long I’m going to live. So instead of $40/month, here is 10 years of $40 a month.
He signed his name, Ernest, and his wife Gail’s name.
And in the memo line of the check he had written:
For my son Gregory’s memory.
I already thought that was a pretty beautiful story.
So, of course, I called Ernest and Gail to thank them.
I told them how much their gift meant to me and to our Shelter Home, and I said I would love for them to come by so I could give them a tour and a big hug.
There was a little pause.
And Ernest said, “Well Jodi, we’ve already done that. I’m your Ernie.”
I could not believe it.
Before we ever opened the doors of our new Shelter Home, a man named Ernie came on one of my neighborhood tours.
Those tours were not always easy. Many of the people walking through our unfinished shelter were neighbors who were worried about what our move would mean for their neighborhood. At the beginning of every tour, I would ask everyone to introduce themselves and tell me their “why.” Why had they decided to come inside and see what we were building? Ernie was very straightforward with me.
He told me he was one of the neighbors opposed to our move and that he had actually helped fund the lawyer working to keep us out of the neighborhood. But, he said, it didn’t look like they were going to win, so he figured he should poke his head inside and find out what I was up to. Fair enough. So we walked.
When we reached the end of the tour I sat next to Ernie and asked him what he through of our new shelter home. Ernie tipped up the bill of my baseball cap and said:
“Kid, you did good. I’m going to start giving you money now.”
I have shared this story often because this man and his wife were so honest about where they stood, but still willing to keep their minds and hearts open to seeing something differently.
But when that check arrived from Ernest, I had no idea it was my Ernie.
Until that phone call.
The neighbor who once helped fund the fight to keep us out is now helping fund the Shelter Home he once fought against. And he didn’t just send $40. He sent ten years of $40 monthly gifts all at once, enough to help provide one night of shelter every month for the next decade, given in memory of his son Gregory.
I cannot stop thinking about the full circle of this story. Ernie did something I wish happened more often in this world. He came inside to see for himself, listen and most importantly, he allowed what he saw to change his mind.
Ernie and Gail, thank you for this beautiful gift. Thank you for trusting us with Gregory’s memory. And Ernie, thank you for walking through our doors all those months ago willing to see for yourself what we were trying so hard to build.
I am so very grateful you turned out to be my Ernie. There will be a little piece of Gregory’s love living inside this Shelter Home for many years to come.
Here is the link to our $40 a month campaign if you would like to join Ernie and Gail:
https://interfaithsanctuary.networkforgood.com/projects/304000-solving-homelessness-205-people-at-a-time
