It is ‘who God wanted me to be’
Sometimes, it takes a person who’s been down that road, walked down that path, and encountered that pain in order to understand that other person.
Pittsburgh’s homeless community is a forgotten community, said Tyrone “T-Bird” Burrell. And because he’s been homeless before, he’s determined to never let that community be forgotten again.
Burrell founded the Spiritual Devotional Outreach Recovery Program in 2015, in efforts to help the homeless and other underserved communities with finances, physical resources and a proverbial shoulder to cry on.
It’s the type of program that he said wasn’t available or well-known in his younger days. “My mom and grandmother always told me that I was very intelligent and that I could do things in a positive way,” Burrell told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “But the past was real bad for me. It was the negativity that I was around” that found Burrell in and out of jail for years.
“We all in life have choices that we make,” he said. “But at the same token, you’re either going to go down the right path or the wrong path. I was hard-headed.”
Burrell, a Pittsburgh native, attended Fifth Avenue, Langley and Schenley high schools.
While imprisoned, Burrell began his mental transformation. He started contacting a wealth of organizations that could assist financially in his new venture once he was released from prison. In 2015, Burrell was released from prison, with two years of parole…and the Spiritual Devotional Outreach Recovery Program was born.
“I would get advice from my pastor…everyone thought it was a good vision to help the homeless, help the families that are in need. Even our young adults, a lot of young adults are trying to turn their life around, but they don’t have the right role models,” Burrell said.
Thus, Burrell’s life is dedicated to providing the homeless in Pittsburgh with clothes, food, and other resources. “People just started blending in with me (on my mission),” Burrell said. “Burlington Coat Factory, Toys ‘R Us, they’re holding a toy drive this Christmas for families who can’t afford gifts for their kids…People ask me, ‘Why are you using your own money?’ The money that was given to me by my uncle, it might be for me to take care of myself, but I read the Bible a lot, and it states you should share,” Burrell said. “I give to others. God chose for me to do this, this is my mission, because all my past life, I was doing things I shouldn’t have been doing. Now, since I’ve been out of prison, all I’ve been doing is focusing on this.”
Kenyatta Clemons serves as administrative liaison for the organization. She told the Courier she was homeless for two years. But she’s always been the type of person to want to help others. “I’ve worked in different soup kitchens, I’ve held picnics in the park…I know where they come from. I know what it feels like to be down and out and not have anyone care,” Clemons said.
Burrell uses many creative ways to raise money for the homeless. The day before Mother’s Day, he passed out batches of flowers to mothers in Downtown’s Market Square. The mothers, in turn, gave financial donations. The money is then used to purchase a variety of items for the homeless community, along with those in various women’s shelters in the area.
Burrell even dressed up as an Easter Bunny at the Carnegie Library, Knoxville branch, the day before Easter. “There’s a lot of kids that go there, and sometimes they don’t get the things that they want for Easter, so I bought candy, toys, and passed them all out for free,” he said.
On June 17, the day before Father’s Day, Burrell will pass out free gifts to fathers at Market Square, beginning at 1 p.m. And Burrell collaborated with Kennywood to hold “SDORP Kennywood Picnic Day” on July 1, where over 60 Kennywood tickets can be purchased from the organization for a discounted price of $29. The more people purchase tickets from Burrell’s organization, the more money can be funneled to Pittsburgh’s homeless community, while the ticketholder can have access to Kennywood and its rides for a discounted rate. There will also be a food tent at Kennywood, sponsored by SDORP. Free food accompanies the $29 ticket price from the organization’s food tent. To purchase tickets, call 216-868-1965 or 724-575-2728.
“A lot of times, (a homeless person’s) self-esteem gets so low that they don’t see a value in life anymore, they give up,” Clemons said. “But if we come and let them know that someone cares, it can build their self-esteem up to know they are worth something and can be something.”
Burrell said he is in constant communication with Pittsburgh’s homeless community, many of whom reside along Wood St. and Liberty Ave., Downtown. He has their respect, because they know he understands them and their struggles.
“You have to sit there and talk to them and let them know you really care,” Burrell said. “I have been just trying to be who God wanted me to be.”
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