BUFFALO, N.Y. — Some are calling it the end of an era.
For a generation, the pastor of a local church has conducted an annual effort around Thanksgiving to call attention to the plight of the homeless by living among them.
But Pastor Eric Johns of the Buffalo Dream Center tells 2 on Your Side this year will mark his last as a participant.
"To be honest, it's a lot harder for me than it used to be 25 years ago. Just the walking as we walk about 10-12 miles a day. And we're sleeping under a bridge on the concrete," said Johns, 52, about the effort which has been conducted for two and a half decades despite the weather which some years has involved bitter cold as well as rain and snow.
In 1999 a much younger Pastor Johns began his mission of spending a week on the streets with the homeless, sleeping where they slept, eating what they ate in shelters, and hearing their stories.
He noted that the original intent of the exercise was not only to call attention to the plight of those less fortunate but also as a means to promote the Buffalo Dream Center's fledgling Boxes of Love campaign, which provides meals for the poor at Christmas and toys for their children.
"My church was small and we couldn't afford it and so when I did this homeless week, it drew attention to the need," Johns explained.
The growing publicity surrounding Johns' unique effort helped promote Boxes of Love over the years to the point where today it will help feed 3,500 people with the assistance of an army of volunteers whose numbers have grown over the years.
"Some really positive things have happened I think over the last 25 years," said Johns. "We have a lot more cooperation with organizations like mine working together so that's a huge change."
Hello Old Friend
He really is my brother and our families have always done things together," said Patrick Fleming, who was one of the original members of John's Homeless Week initiative in its earliest days.
Fleming, who moved to North Carolina a decade ago, said when he heard that this year would be John's last one on the streets, he decided to join an old friend in Buffalo.
"I took vacation because I knew it was time to come back and spend the week on the streets with him," Fleming said.
Passing the Torch.
"A lot of guys who run organizations and ministries like mine, when they are finished, also means the organization is finished," said Johns.
However, that won't be the case in this instance, as this story isn't so much about the end of something, as it is about a new beginning.
"He's kind of been building up to handing it over to us so it wasn't that surprising," said Nathaniel Johns, of his father's decision.
Nathaniel, 19, and his 20-year-old brother who have participated with their dad since they were youngsters, will now take over the homeless week tradition.
"A lot of people think we're doing it because we had to, thinking that because our father did it, we were told that it would be our job," said Nathaniel Johns. "But really we caught my dad's vision and we enjoyed it."
The vision he speaks of manifests itself through the eyes of those who, on occasion over the years, have approached Pastor Johns, to remind him of how he helped them when they were down on their luck.
That, said Johns, is certainly more than worth the price of worn-out shoes.
"The lives that have been changed make it all worthwhile," Johns said.