Timothy Goode, who calls himself "Kid Rock" after the famous pop musician, has been homeless since his release from prison five years ago. He generally calls the space underneath a bridge on Fleming Street in Morganton his home.
Recently, though, Goode has accepted help from David Collins and the House of Refuge Ministries in Morganton.
"We've laid out a 90-day plan to get him into stable housing. That plan includes detox at the House of Refuge, then three-to-six weeks in rehabilitation," Collins said. After that, Collins and other staff at the ministry will help Goode locate employment, save for a rental deposit and find adequate housing.
"I have too many people in my corner. How can I let them down? That's my dream - to give back to them what they gave me," Goode said. "I want to change some things."
Cloud, however, tells a different story of homelessness while holding a copy of the Bible. For Cloud, the life he lives now is his dream.
"I don't consider myself homeless. Wherever I happen to be is my home. If I'm not bothering anybody, then I don't think I'm doing anything wrong," he said.
Cloud currently draws a disability check from the government.
Though he doesn't have stable housing now, he considers himself wealthy.
"People who are rich and have a lot of things get all of the attention, but people like me, who are truly rich, and don't have anything to prove, we get ignored," he said.
Cloud says he trusts only in God. "Everybody thinks I'm weird and crazy, but I never intentionally hurt anybody, ever."
Goode and Cloud both express faith in a God who will ultimately, they believe, will take care of them. As Goode taps his finger firmly on a McDonald's dining table, he says that only recently has he come to understand what Jesus meant went He said, "Let the children come unto me."
"We are all God's children," Goode said. "All of us."
Nevertheless, Goode still dreams of one day making it big in Nashville as a singer/songwriter. While pushing up his shirt sleeves he says,
"You can put that in the paper; that, one day, Kid Rock is going to be famous."
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