Being a Nassau County native hasn’t just brought Joseph Bouchard closer to his community, it’s given him a call to action.
The 23-year-old from Hilliard just answered his most recent call: helping someone from far outside county lines.
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“I saw him on the side of the road, I reached back in my car and saw I had some food back there, so I turned around and gave him two big things of chili,” said Bouchard.
Less than two weeks ago, Bouchard saw a man by the road he says was lying down by a shopping cart, blanketed in a rug. He couldn’t really explain why he stopped when recalling the experience to Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin, but says something inside of him called him to help.
“He was laying down next to a bag and wearing cleats, like soccer cleats. So I ran back to my house and got a bunch of stuff together after bringing that food and took it to him,” Bouchard said.
After coming back to give some of his belongings to the man, the two got to talking. Bouchard found out the man’s name is José, a documented, homeless immigrant from Cuba. Bouchard tells Action News Jax that José lost his immigration documents when he came to Florida, then had his money and other belongings stolen from him.
“It’s crazy man. I couldn’t imagine living that life, it’s crazy,” said Bouchard.
Soon after they met, Bouchard shared his picture on Facebook asking the community for donations to get José into a hotel and off the street. Hundreds of people responded to the Facebook post asking to pitch in, leading to more than $1,200 towards a hotel room and other items to help José.
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“It made me feel really, really good about my community. They’re good people,” Bouchard said.
Earlier this week, Bouchard, specifically, decided to take things a step further. He’d heard from José that he was hoping to work to, eventually, get himself enough money to move back to Cuba to live with his sister. He was hoping to get a three-wheeled bike to take him there, but Bouchard stepped in instead.
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He drove José, himself, from Hilliard to Tampa on Sunday. Bouchard says he bought José a phone so the two can keep in touch and set him up at a Tampa shelter for the homeless.
Action News Jax wasn’t able to reach José to get his side of the story, but Bouchard hopes his version of it will still inspire.
“If you feel like you need to help somebody, then just do it. If you feel like God’s telling you to help somebody, then do it,” said Bouchard.
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