At first Thelma Evans could not believe Lenny Harris was dead.
“Then it hit me like a bombshell,” she said, standing outside the hall crowded with mourners.
She had known him since he was a little boy, back in the ‘60s. He grew up to become her friend, and her champion. When Evans became homeless some years ago, it was Harris to whom she turned for help.
He helped her find the courage to go to the city council and testify about her situation.
“He held my hand when I told my story to the city council,” Evans recalled.
Evans got her housing voucher. Then she lost it again, when she entered a rehab center to battle her addiction. Today Evans is homeless again, living in a shelter.
She would like to get another housing voucher. She wishes Harris could be here, to hold her hand again.
“He was like my backbone, a mentor, someone that had faith in me,” Thelma said.
Even though Harris isn’t here today, he is still helping Thelma.
“Lenny gave me a lot; he gave me instructions in where to go… Now I am trying to remember the
things that he told me,” Evans said.
