A guy called Victor Hubbard had been standing on the same street corner for three years when Ginger Jones Sprouse decided to investigate more. The Texas lady discovered that the guy in his 30s was homeless and suffering from mental health problems. The tragic reason he was constantly waiting at the same corner was because his mother placed him there and urged him to wait for her return. She never arrived.
“He stands and watches, taps the pole, squints, dances, waves, and sometimes simply stares,” Sprouse wrote on a GoFundMe page in 2017. “He is a kind, loving guy who happens to be mentally ill. If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘falling between the gaps,’ he is the definition.” Sprouse would pass Victor’s street corner in Clear Lake, Texas, four times every day on her route to work at the Art of the Meal. Soon, the two became buddies.
“He is known to the police, fire department, and municipal mental health services. I really know him very well. He had relatives in the neighborhood that refused to assist him. His mother reportedly set him down at the corner and ordered him to wait for her to return. He took her seriously. So he waits and waits,” she said on the website. She knew she needed additional support to alleviate Victor’s suffering.
“So, as a community, we’re banding together to provide him the mental health treatment he needs. That is the first priority. Once we get him stabilized in that aspect, I want to see him in a tranquil household with people who will support him and even a job. If you want to meet someone who is always enthusiastic, upbeat, and modest, go see him. “He will always outbless you,” she continued.
“I began to get more and more concerned as I knew winter was coming and I thought, ‘So what’s going to happen now?'” Sprouse spoke to MyBayArea Radio. “So he and I began talking about how he’d feel about sometimes coming to my place to get out of the terrible weather, and that’s where we started. It has been quite a voyage.”
Not only did the GoFundMe website earn nearly $35,000, but Sprouse also created a Facebook page with frequent updates on Victor’s life. Sprouse assured people following his journey that he was doing well at the time. She was able to get Hubbard into mental health clinics, get him off the streets, and even offer him a position in her company’s kitchen.
In a January 2017 update, she said, “I have fantastic news for Victor! He is officially off the street and visits the corner less often! We have him in the mental health system, his medicine is being managed, and he is getting long-term care. He is pleased that things are moving forward.”
Hubbard thanked Sprouse. “She came around and really rescued me. It’s like grace,” he told KHOU.com, according to The Independent. According to the publication, one of his uncles was ultimately able to assist him reconnect with his mother. “I got to talk to her, and I really feel like I accomplished something,” Hubbard told the television station.
