Effort to help homeless hero leads to rancor
A good deed struck a chord with many in Vermont a few weeks ago when a campaign to get a homeless man housing raised nearly $14,000.
But the process quickly devolved into an expensive, time-consuming and, at times, toxic confrontation between the man and the woman who tried to help him.
James Pocock was living in the woods off I-89 when he became a local celebrity in May by saving a man's life after he had a heart attack behind the wheel. He was awarded a medal from the Williston Fire Department on May 31.
His heroics and homeless status caught the eye of Montpelier resident Lynnea Nichols, who had given him new pants over a year before and wanted to do more to help.
She created a GoFundMe, a digital crowdfunding campaign, that generated thousands in donations for Pocock and helped arrange a path to housing for him.
Related:
- Homeless VT man honored for saving life of trucker
- Woman's fundraising for homeless hero goes viral
- Fundraiser for homeless hero reaches $12K
That's where things started to turn sour. The two disagreed over whether the donated money was taxable. Nichols held onto a portion of the fund, which was in her name, for a week while she waited for IRS confirmation that the fund would not be counted as taxable income. Pocock was concerned Nichols would spend the money. She has since given the remaining money to Pocock and the two are no longer on speaking terms.
Nichols said doesn't regret her fundraising effort, saying that it did have some positive outcomes.
"If I did it again it would probably only be for a family member or friend," she said. "It took a lot of time."
As for Pocock, he's still waiting for housing and is back to camping in the woods.
"It's not open ended, there's an end in sight," he said. He said he has been working with the Howard Center and the Burlington Housing Authority to find a place to live.
Neither organization was able to comment on the status of his housing search for privacy reasons.
Less than half of the $13,880 fund remains after four weeks. GoFundMe kept 7.9 percent as well as $0.30 from each donation. Pocock spent more than $2,000 on a new phone, which incurred a monthly phone bill, backpack, clothing, food and more than two weeks of lodging at a motel.
Pocock also purchased a used hot dog cart with more than $3,000 of the donations, a business venture he said he always wanted to pursue.
"I am ecstatic, it's been a lifelong dream and I never had the opportunity or tangible assets to make it happen," he said. "It may be simple, but simple is good."
The cart, which he calls Lovely Road Dogs, will be open soon on Bank Street in Burlington, according to Pocock. That will be his job and sole source of income.
"Once I get this going I'll be able to have self revenue, and I need that."
The remaining $6,000 of the fund, will be used to help pay for permits and supplies for his cart as well as living expenses, Pocock said. He went back to camping in order to save money. For now he is storing his food cart at a garage in Burlington.
"I have a lot to learn, but I'm learning it," he said. "This is my job right now. I've got the mindset and the food experience to do it."
Although he said he is nearly set to run his own business and have housing, Pocock said he wouldn't have accepted the money if he could go back in time.
"I didn't ask for any of this, I didn't ask for the GoFundMe to get started, I didn't ask for anybody to donate to the GoFundMe," Pocock said. "There are some things money just can't take care of. Peace and happiness, you can have that with nothing. She took this upon herself."
However, he is optimistic for the future the fund helped make possible.
"I could take this money and go squander it on stuff I don't need, or I could take it and make it where it's going to change my life. And that's what I'm doing. I'm going full-force on this."
Contact Abbey Gingras at agingras@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1875. Follow her on Twitter @abbeygingras.