Plainfield couple make a connection with a transient Joliet man

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Carrie Ann Labuda, of Plainfield, greets Steve Sherwood, who is homeless, on Sunday along West Jefferson Street in Joliet. Labuda and her husband Brian met Steve, offering him lunch and dog food for his dog. | Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: December 24, 2011 8:17AM

Earlier this year, a routine trip to Baker’s Square for lunch turned into a life-changing experience for Carrie Ann and Brian Labuda of Plainfield.

As they walked up to the restaurant, they noticed a homeless man in the parking lot.

It was raining and cold, so they gave him some money for a cup of coffee.

When they left the restaurant, they saw the man, coffee in hand. They gave him the change from their check.

That was the beginning of their relationship with Steve Sherwood. The Labudas seek the homeless man out every month or two to check on his well-being and buy him things he might need.

Recently, they took him to lunch and bought him coveralls, socks and a tent.

“Sometimes people just really need the chance to get to know somebody,” Carrie Ann said.

A couple of weeks ago, when the weather turned cold and flurries started to fly, the Labudas could not find Sherwood. Carrie Ann used Facebook to spread the word that he was missing, and even had Joliet police look for him.

Three days later, she found him near his usual place, the MorningStar Treasure Chest shop on Jefferson Street.

“I found him and started crying,” Carrie Ann said. “He said, “Why are you crying?’ I said, ‘You don’t understand.’ We’ve had people looking for him. We just want to help take care of his basic needs.”

When she asked where he had been, she said Steve told her he was just “around.”

In a May 2010, Sherwood told The Herald-News that he has been living on the streets of Joliet since 2003, and that God wants him on the street.

He took to the streets after he was laid off and lost his home, he told The Herald-News. Sherwood said he doesn’t stay in shelters because he has a dog that isn’t welcome there.

Donating the right way

Marilyn Farmer, executive director of MorningStar Mission in Joliet, said the Labudas are helping Sherwood in the right way.

“Buying (the homeless) a gift card to a restaurant, that certainly is one way to help them this holiday season,” Farmer said. “Certainly buying the person a gift card or an article of clothing. I would not recommend that they take them into their homes.”

More people are struggling financially this holiday season. In the past six to nine months, MorningStar Mission has seen an 18 percent increase in homelessness and requests for services, Farmer said.

“It’s just not getting better,” Farmer said. “I think that has to do with the unemployment and all of that in our area, because the employment hasn’t really changed. It’s been really difficult for folks to find jobs.”

Those who want to help the homeless are encouraged to donate items to a shelter such as MorningStar. Farmer said the shelter can particularly use long underwear, men’s socks, men’s sweaters and hats and gloves.

“Everyone that stays at the mission gets a Christmas bag of gifts on Christmas Day, and those are the types of useful things we would put in those bags,” Farmer said. “We also keep them on hand because after Christmas folks are still coming in who need those articles.”

People can also “adopt” a homeless person through MorningStar’s Stars of Hope program, Farmer said.

The Labudas plan to continue their relationship with Sherwood.

“I think most people just assume that homeless people … drink when you give them money or they’ll take the money and do drugs instead,” Carrie Ann said. “There is that one in 10 person or one in five person who is going to appreciate it. Not everybody is the same. Give everybody the benefit of the doubt.”