JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Jonathan Ross is homeless. But that doesn't mean he isn't helping others.
Jon is a member of the First Christian Church of the Beaches. “He’s here every Sunday, every Wednesday for dinner, he helps out," says Amy McIntyre. "He’s helped me with Meals on Wheels. I mean he’s homeless but he’s helped me feed other people."
Amy has known Jon for many years. He used to come into Arby's where she worked in the '90s. He used to get the same thing: A Junior Roast Beef and water. From there, a bond formed.
“He’s helped so many people," Amy said. "I’ve had so many people reach out to me saying that Jon actually saved them from being robbed or different scenarios. And I’m like, this is amazing. This man is an icon."
Most people at the beaches know who he is. He sat outside Doro almost every day. Sometimes people would take him to lunch at Southern Grounds.
Recently, Jon took a turn for the worst. One day, members of her church said that Jon wasn't looking well. She picked him up to take him to her house so he could have a hot shower and a hot meal.
“It was really hard because I knew it was not good. I don’t know if anyone has ever smelled death but that’s how it smells is rotting flesh. “
His leg was so infected, his pants had fused to his leg. “He did have a staph infection which could have gone, if it had gone any further it probably would have taken his life."
Jon also has cancer of the eye. "It’s literally eating his face and he’ll always say he’s fine. 'It doesn’t hurt.'”
But now, Jon has a second chance. Amy decided to take Jon into her home again.
"He never deserved to be in the street," she said.
Once he got out of the hospital, Amy got him all cleaned up. He got a haircut, some new clothes, new shoes, and his own room.
“Everybody has come together to get him the help he needs because sometimes we need to be the voice for them," Amy said. "He has nothing but so much to give... It’s just we could all learn a lesson from that."
A lesson about compassion.
“What’s more important than human life? And just to see him there sitting on that bench. And I want my girls to know we need to care for one another in this world."
Amy has gotten Jon to work with a caseworker. They are working to get him the help he needs for the future by getting him set up with social security and disability.
His leg will take a year to heal. If you'd like to help Jon, click here to contribute to his gofundme.