When Eddie Agnew steps up into his RV in lot 4B of a Fort Worth RV park, he is stepping into a new world.
'It's a small place, but it's my place," Agnew said. "I haven't had a place to call home in a long time."
Agnew lived on Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth for 10 years. He was one of an estimated 3,500 people experiencing homelessness in Tarrant County.
"You can stay there for a long time and not even realize how much time has passed," Agnew said. "Just trying to scrape by the best I could. It's no way to live day-to-day every day like that."
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Agnew connected with Kenny Thomison, founder of Building Bridges, a Christian non-profit that helps people experiencing homelessness get work and life skills to get them back into society.
"The ultimate goal is to help those who are homeless move from the street back into society, as Eddie has done," Building Bridges board member Sarah Peden said.
Building Bridges got Agnew a car, helped him find a steady job, and got him a donated RV. Agnew pays the rent for his lot. He is the first of what the non-profit hopes will be many more.
"I knew there had to be a change in my life. I was at the point where I wanted a change in my life. I just didn't know how that change in my life was gonna come," Agnew said.
Agnew credits Building Bridges and his faith for giving him hope for a future.
"Just having that normalcy," Agnew said looking around his RV home. "It just feels like you're back to being part of society."
Building Bridges is looking for donations to open a transitional center to help teach life and work skills, and RV donations to help people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet.
"They've lost hope," Peden said. "Our goal is just to restore hope."
"It's pretty sweet," Agnew said. "They saw 'home sweet home'. So far it is!"
