LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– Shelly Trahan, 33, is struggling with homelessness and is getting help from the community, but what’s inspiring is one of her supporters is an 11-year-old boy who saw her story through his mother and wanted to lend a helping hand.
“It kind of broke me and I told my mom ‘Let’s just help her’, and I told her ‘Let’s get her shoes, the phone, clothes, and stuff’,” Thomas said.
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Corralled Bradley, the mother of Detrell Thomas, said she was sitting on her couch and watched the video posted about Trahan online twice. She said once she went to fix her son’s food she left her phone behind. It was then her 11-year-old son grabbed her phone and watched the video as well.
“So next thing you know, we started getting clothes together, shoes,” Bradley said.
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The man behind sharing Trahan’s story is a local humanitarian.
For nearly three years Terrance St. Julien with his organization Pay It Forward Lending A Helping Hand has been helping the homeless. He shared their stories and cries for help.
“We believe in involving the community because I was always told as a kid back in the days if so-and-so needed help, the community came together and I’m like, we need to bring that back and so that’s a big part of my organization, is having people help people,” St. Julien said. Further, he said he and Trahan did a video with her telling her story, and then posted it on social media.
“Man, it was amazing because there were so many people who knew her and loved her. They just started coming in and donating to get her in a new room and get in a better place from where she was,” St. Julien added.
The story of Shelly Trahan is she’s originally Lafayette but after her mother passed she got an apartment in Opelousas.
“I couldn’t deal with Opelousas anymore,” Trahan said. “Everybody knows that Opelousas is a bad area. It’s a bad environment. I took just me and two-three bags of my kid’s clothes and I just got up and left because I didn’t want to be in that environment anymore. I want to find myself and find peace.”
Unfortunately with a 10 year old son and 13 year old daughter Trahan explained, “It’s definitely hard because I have to find a way every day to make it food-wise and everything that’s going on. I have no job. I’m disabled.”
“I’m trying to get back on my feet the best way I can,” Trahan said.
Coming face-to-face with her 11-year-old supporter for the first time since receiving his donation Trahan is overwhelmed with emotions.
“This little boy had tears in my eyes,” Trahan cried. “To let me know that have good people out there and for this little boy to say that he took everything out of me. To understand what I’m going through because they don’t have kids that understand but for him to understand it means a lot to me.”
Thomas credited his giving from the generation before him.
“I learned all this from my grandmother. She always taught me how to help people out and be kind,” Thomas said.
He hopes others remember to be kind and help people out even though you don’t feel like it.
Trahan is currently staying at an inn with the help of St. Julian’s organization. If you want to help contact him at Plendingahand@gmail.com or 337 371-5722 or 337 280-2942.
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