AMARILLO, Texas-Kit Rudd woke up outside of the Broken Spoke Lounge on Southwest Sixth Avenue in Amarillo. Everything hurt.
He hadn't slept well. In fact, he hadn't had a good night's sleep since he left the comfort of his plush bed with the 4-inch memory foam topper to spend the week sleeping on the streets of Amarillo.
But he wasn't thinking about his aching back, the heaviness of his eyelids or the insatiable feeling of hunger he just couldn't kick. No, Rudd was thinking about today.
Five days before, he left home with his horse, no money in his pocket and only the clothing on his back.
He set out to spend the next four nights sleeping on the streets to raise awareness about homelessness in the city.
And his efforts paid off. From the first day until the last, members of the community would show up for breakfast, lunch and dinner to feed Rudd and the friends he met along the way.
Many homeless, who say they often feel invisible and couldn't tell you when their last good meal was, were now filling their bellies on fried chicken, pizza and tacos-the kind of food that sticks to your ribs and elicits a feeling of comfort.
And although Rudd said he feels like he has awakened some in the community, he questions what tomorrow will look like.
"I'm afraid to walk away," he told the Amarillo Globe-News.
The 59-year-old said he's worked hard his entire life. He knows what it's like to struggle, but he was challenged living on the street for a week.
Day 1, he said the hunger started. Day 3, he said the fatigue hit his bones.
And by Day 4, he said his feet were so swollen from all of the standing that his boots barely fit.
Rudd said he'd likely never forget what he learned the past week, but questions if the food will continue when he goes home. He worries about the homeless people he's met.
"It's going to be difficult (to leave) because so many have told me they feel like no one cares about them I'm trying to show them that so many do," he said.
Over the week, Rudd said he not only learned a lot about himself, but also about homelessness. He said two of the things that stick out the most to him are the sheer amount of people who are actually homeless and how hopeless many of them are. While Rudd and the nonprofit he is a part of are doing what they can to get homeless off the street, chipping away at that feeling of hopelessness has been a large part of what he tried to accomplish.
Walking away, he said there are so many homeless who now have one thing to hold onto: God.
"When you bring God into the situation, it takes a part of the hopelessness away," he said.
