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Person of the Week: Man and his girlfriend feed Detroit homeless 7 days a week

Posted at 9:46 PM, Feb 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-04 15:15:44-05

On any given night in the city of Detroit, you will find thousands of homeless people living on the street.

Many don't have anywhere to go and no way to get food.

However, one man is on a mission to make sure the homeless are not forgotten.

He goes by the nickname Stutters on the streets of Detroit.

Every day he's on the hunt for homeless people who might otherwise freeze to death or go hungry if he were not out there night after night pounding the pavement and making a difference.

Jeremiah Chappell is thankful to have a day job, but that doesn't stop him from hitting the streets of Detroit 7 days and nights a week to feed the homeless.

Jeremiah says, "me and my girlfriend have both dealt with homelessness in our past and everyone is quick to judge."

Jeremiah's girlfriend, Shadow Duffy, is a performer and dancer but when tough times hit, she too found herself without a home

Shadow says, "my biggest challenge, I was diagnosed with a muscular disease ended up losing my job and place to live, it was a strange time in my life."

That was a year ago and now the two are inseparable.

They face these dangerous streets with their dog who they found abandoned, shot and hanging onto to life when they rescued him.

This dynamic threesome venture into some unsavory places and stagger upon sites that would break your heart.

Jeremiah says, "last year, I found 9 people frozen to death out feeding, I just dealt with a couple of nights ago, we found this double amputee he's a Vietnam Vet just laying in his own feces frozen to death."

Jeremiah started this mission 8 years ago handing out blankets with his kids twice a month.  He saw the need to help the homeless and started feeding people.

There are approximately 38,000 homeless people in the city of Detroit.

Through the power of social media people from all over donate food like these pizzas from Dominos or blankets to help their cause.

They pass out hundred of blankets, and people give donations things for them to five out and no one makes a salary. Jeremiah shows what he's doing on Facebook Live.

Jeremiah says, "they're cancer patients, veterans, they're living breathing people and every night we have 40-50 thousand viewers. People tell me oh my God you have changed the way we look at the homeless."

With that awareness on social media, people from other states, even other countries are joining the battle to help the homelessness.

Jeremiah says, "I care about these people, they're not all drug addicts, they're not all drunks, they're people, somebody's brother, mother, father, sister and they care they're out here."

Jeremiah and Shadow are saving money to buy a trailer so they can hand out even more food and blankets on any given night. Jeremiah's dream is to have a shelter. In the meantime, he hopes their efforts are showing others no matter how small you can make a difference too.

Jeremiah says, "it means everyone can do it, everybody can take a minute and prove that everybody matters."

If you would like to donate or help Jeremiah, go to Facebook.com/EverybodyMattersDetroit.

That's why Jeremiah Chappell is our Person of the Week.