Lending a helping hand isn’t always easy, even in the best of times. But as these seven homeless or formerly homeless people show, it’s possible to rise to the occasion, no matter what the circumstances.
Above, Hussain Thomas, a former drug addict and petty thief, helps an elderly woman with her shopping bags at a London train station in Feburary. Thomas, who spent much of his youth robbing shops and living on the streets, got his wake-up call after a stint in prison.
“My life consisted of waking up in the morning, smoking weed, hanging out on the council estate and doing crime,” he said. “But when I was in prison, I thought there must be more to life than just robbing and stealing.”
After a cousin introduced him to Islam, Thomas changed his first name from Jason to Hussain and shifted his attention toward good. He now visits socially deprived areas and warns troubled teens about the dangers of a life of crime.
Photo: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
Oliver Lee hails from Baltimore and was educated at Princeton University. Before joining the TakePart team in 2009, he worked as a story editor, coached tennis, and produced videos for an orphanage in Nepal. Now living in Brooklyn, in his spare time he enjoys traveling and eating beyond his means. Email Oliver | @oliverung
