PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Before Michael Barrett found religion, he said he had a slight problem controlling his emotions.
“I would get angry as the Incredible Hulk. Oh, that’s not good," Barret said.
Playing and composing music is one way Michael found peace.
“It expresses my emotion. My feeling. My passion. And being compassionate," Barrett said.
It’s that compassion Michael brings to First Baptist Church in Hudson, where he is a pastor, and to homeless camps around Pasco County, where he delivers food three times a week.
“The main thing is to gain their trust, or they won’t give you the time of day,” Barrett opined.
A woman named Belinda lives at one of the 18 camps Michael visits.
“I never expected to be homeless. Never ever did I expect to be homeless," she said.
Belinda said she’s been living on the streets for four years. Now she’s in this spot in the woods with her boyfriend and seven cats. She said she ended up here after falling behind on property taxes.
“The most difficult part is (long pause) I don’t know.”
She said being out here month after month gets old, and there's also the worry of unforeseen danger around.
“If you are outside, you hear a lot. And you would be surprised what you hear,” Belinda said.
But there is kindness from strangers like Michael, who does his best to learn the names of the people he encounters in these camps.
“The way society is going right now, every one of us is one paycheck from being homeless,” Michael said.
