Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Shivering homeless man finds warmth in strangers’ kindness

A homeless man withstands weather conditions to stand in the median on U.S. 29 as snow falls, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in Charlottesville, Va.  (Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
A homeless man withstands weather conditions to stand in the median on U.S. 29 as snow falls, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in Charlottesville, Va. (Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT A homeless man withstands weather conditions to stand in the median on U.S. 29 as snow falls, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in Charlottesville, Va. (Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A teenage girl hopped out of a car at a red light as the snow pelted down, and handed a red wool blanket to a stranger.

“God bless you,” said Shawn Harmon, who held his dog’s leash in one hand and a sign that read “need work!” in the other.

“You two try to stay warm,” 19-year-old Michelle Smith told him. She leaned down and rubbed the wet, shivering dog, then hurried back to her car before the light turned green.

Harmon and Tucker, a bluenose pitbull, stood at this intersection for hours, despite the freezing temperatures and a blizzard expected to dump between 4-7 inches of snow in Louisville by midnight Friday. Other parts of the state and East Coast were staring at potentially 2 feet of snow.

Homeless shelters across the region were welcoming anyone during the storm, but Harmon said the local one won’t take dogs. And he won’t leave Tucker. He needed $20 more for a $75 motel room.