‘I HAD TO LEARN TO BE HOMELESS’ Rachel Greco

Lansing ’s Mike Karl and Homeless Angels group are about second chances

Each week, this series will introduce you to an exceptional American who unites, rather than divides, our communities. To read more about the American profiled here and more average Americans doing exceptional things, visit onenation.usatoday.com.

Mike Karl credits the homeless community with helping him survive six months on the streets of Lansing more than a decade ago. It’s why he has dedicated his life to homeless outreach.

In late 2004 he lost his home to the bank and couldn’t pay his bills. Then he started drinking.

“I only had me and a bottle, really, and I talked too much to that bottle,” Karl said. “It took over. It was the worst time in my life. I lost touch with everything.”

He managed to keep his job at General Motors’ Delta Township Assembly plant, but slept on park benches and street corners. He said it was other homeless individuals who taught him how to stay warm, showed him where he could get food and take a shower.

“I had to learn how to be homeless,” Karl said. “It’s not a skill that you have. They pretty much showed me exactly what I needed to do, and they became family.”

Karl said it took him two years and a second chance from a pastor to deal with his alcoholism and stabilize his life.

Today, that’s what Karl’s grass-roots organization, Homeless Angels, believes in — chances, sometimes as many as it takes to help get someone off the streets.

The non-profit, founded four years ago, provides temporary housing for homeless individuals and families at the Burkewood Inn. The group takes donations to fund outreach.

The effort grew around Karl’s yearly “week on the streets” every November, during which he would spend his nights sleeping in homeless camps around Lansing. He documented the experience with photos and videos.

Karl still works full time at GM, but spends nearly as much time in his office at the Burkewood in Lansing Township.

He spends his mornings working to help find shelter for people who don’t have homes and encouraging clients to seek employment and other assistance.

If there are issues, Karl usually handles them with ease, said Amanda Zimmerman, who works with Homeless Angels. “He can get to the level where they’re at,” she said.

What does it mean to you to be an American?

To me, it means we’re all family, all races and colors and ethic backgrounds. It’s helping each other. It’s trying to unite people, trying to give people a way to help people, and allowing each other to see who we really are as people. All of us, when it’s nighttime outside, we’re all Americans. There’s nothing that separates us.

What moment touched and motivated you to take part in this effort?

When the pastor who helped me died, it sparked something in me. I wanted to make sure that his legacy and his effort, that I saw work, continued. It’s really important work.

What gives you hope and what concerns you?

I get hope from people who do the smallest, kindest things. They see change and how easy it is to put a smile on someone’s face. What really concerns me in today’s times is we’re becoming too connected with our phones and we’ve forgotten what real conversation is, and I hope we can get back to that.

What do you hope to accomplish through your efforts?

I want to end homelessness in every state in this country. These people are afraid. They’re depressed. Their anxiety may be up. They just want someone to talk to, just like anyone else. Your approach is what really opens the door for love, change and acceptance. They’re somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, somebody’s mother. We try to make that real for people, and allow for their lives to change. It doesn’t just change the life of someone on the street. It changes our lives, too. It’s making things better. Can I help everyone? No, but I’m going to try.