Man experiencing homelessness gives back at Silver Lake Church

SILVER LAKE (KABC) -- Jeffrey P. is homeless and has been volunteering at the Silverlake Community Church food pantry for the past 10 years.

He lives in a tent at the L.A. River on Los Feliz Boulevard.

"I try to tell people to come. If I can go, you can go," he said.

This food pantry started 10 years ago when members of the church realized there wasn't much being done to help their homeless neighbors.

Colin Johnson, a member of the Silverlake Community Church, co-founded the pantry and encouraged Jeffrey to get involved.

"He was just showing up to receive groceries and stuff at that time and that's when we were first starting. We had no volunteers, it was just four of us," said Johnson. "Jeffrey was just kind of coming in getting groceries, he was always nice to us. We were like, 'Hey man you want to volunteer?'"

Jeffrey started by handing out cans, but now he's in charge of managing the line.

"It's a big responsibility. So it's good to watch him go up the ranks," said Johnson.

From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, the pantry feeds around 30-40 people.

About half of the people that show up to collect food are low-income earners, and the other half are homeless.

"This church is my life, I'd give this church anything. Whatever they asked for, I'd give it to them," said Jeffrey.