- It's our Dare To Love hour,
shining a light on people
who've chosen to love
when they could have just walked away, simply.
That's certainly true of my next guest.
When she was walking down a street
in downtown Portland, Oregon,
she saw a homeless young man
who reminded her of her own son.
So, instead of passing him by,
she dared to love,
not only helping him with a little cash, but so much more.
Meet Stacey Lag Jennings, y'all.
(audience cheering)
So, tell me about meeting this man on the road,
like what, you said it reminded you of your son,
but what happened from there?
- I was working downtown
and I was walking to a shoe store, and I passed this, John,
and he looked like my son.
He was about the same age of my son,
he just tugged at my heart.
So I stopped to talk to him.
We talked for a little bit,
kinda knew where he wanted to go, what he was doing.
And I gave him some money,
but I felt like I needed to ask him about his mom.
And I asked him, "how long has it been
"since you've talked to your mom?"
And he said, "It's been a long time."
And I said, "Well, I'd really like you to do me a favor,
"and I'd really like you to call her,
"and tell her that you're okay."
And he said, "Well I'll call her right now
"if I can use your phone."
So I handed him my phone and he called his mom.
- That's amazing, so how did, that's amazing.
(audience clapping)
It's, first of all, amazing
that you didn't just stop,
you could've just walked by,
you could've just given money,
you could've just done so many things,
but you just kept going above and beyond, which is so cool.
And to care about the mother,
'cause you know the mother's gotta be worried sick
if he hadn't talked to his mother in so long, like.
So how did that call go with Mom?
- I could tell that she was,
she was really overwhelmed, very emotional.
He put her on speaker and he said,
"My mom really wants to talk to you."
And she was in tears, she was confused as to who I was.
So he was trying to explain to her who I was.
And she asked me to give her son a hug.
And John said, "Oh Mom, she doesn't want to hug me,
"I'm filthy and I stink."
And they laughed a little bit, he said his goodbyes,
and when he gave me back my phone,
he said, again, "My mom really wanted you
"to give me a hug, but I know I'm filthy,
"and I know I stink."
and I said, 'I don't care.'
- Oh, run it back up.
- He did! So I, you know,
- That means he wanted it, he needed it.
- Of course, right.
And his mom needed it, he needed it.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So I gave him a hug,
and it was, it was a really special hug.
It was like hugging my own son.
- [Kelly] Oh!
(applause)
- So,
- Wow!
So, this is, once again,
you go above and beyond,
so it was a couple weeks later
that you ended up getting in touch
with his mom again?
- It was, I've been thinking about her a lot,
but I was nervous about calling her.
You know, I don't know who this person is,
and I don't know if she'd even want to hear from me.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- But I finally got up the courage,
really kind of hoping she wouldn't answer the phone.
- Yeah.
- And she and her husband were camping
and they saw they missed a call from Oregon,
and she said to her husband, "Oh my gosh,
"I think John called."
So she called me real quick.
We didn't talk long because she was camping,
but in that very short window of time,
we learned so much, so many parallels.
Her oldest son is a detective,
my youngest son's a deputy sheriff.
- What?
- And her (giggles), and then she's got John,
who's a struggling addict.
And I have, my oldest son is a struggling addict,
in recovery but it's been a long journey.
So we had these,
- Like that, this is the time
when I can't understand when people don't
believe in something bigger than yourself.
- [Stacey] Right?
- Whatever that is.
- Right?
(applause)
- Like, whatever that is for you.
- Yeah.
- But like, that's--
- It just, it just gave me chills.
- That's really random happenstance,
- Yeah.
- Like, that cannot be coincidence.
- No.
- Wow, so tell us what happened a few weeks ago.
- Kelly and I just had this amazing connection,
and I really wanted to try and find him for her.
I felt like I needed to do more.
So my husband and I drove downtown
and two blocks down, there's a guy with a dog.
And as soon as John stood up,
I knew it was him,
and I just like, "John!"
And I pulled out my phone,
'cause I get super excited,
so I say, "we need to get your mom
on the phone again."
- Which has got to be so cool for him,
like, thinking that nobody probably cares,
and he's just in the middle of nowhere,
and then you came back.
- [Stacey] Yeah.
- Weeks later, that's so cool.
- He said nobody's ever done anything
like this for me before.
- [Kelly] I've never heard of anyone doing like any-
- Which was, made me feel good.
- Yeah! (applause)
It's such a special thing.
- It was fun.
- Wow!
- Yeah.
- So you asked him to live with you, right?
- He called his mom, they talked for a little bit,
while they were on the phone,
I asked my husband if I could offer
to let him come home with us, and-
- I mean that's kind of scary,
'cause you don't know the person.
- I had no idea, but I knew Kelly.
- Yeah.
- I mean, I knew his mom, Kelly.
- Yeah, yeah. (laughs)
- You know me now, too.
- So I felt pretty comfortable about who he was.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- You know, at that point I wasn't nervous about that.
And he, he said yes.
You know, warm bed and food sounded good to him.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So he came over.
- But it's still a stranger's home,
was he a little nervous, when he got there?
- It took him a while to adjust.
But he'd been there a couple weeks
and he said, "it's starting to feel
"really good to feel normal again."
And that just made me feel good, that he was--
- [Kelly] Absolutely!
(applause)
Absolutely.
- Yeah.
- So, John's mom Kelly knows
that you take care of him, right?
- [Stacy] Oh yeah.
- You keep in contact?
- Yeah, and she talked to him almost everyday.
Talks to him, almost everyday, while he was with us.
- So you've spoken to John's mom on the phone,
but you've never actually met in person, right?
- No, I've never met her.
I'd love to meet her, some day.
Never met her.
- Okay, well, Stacy doesn't have to wait any longer.
She doesn't know this, but John's Mom, Kelly,
is actually here.
(gasps)
Kelly, come on out!
- No way!
(audience clapping and cheering)
- [Kelly] Come on over!
Oh, where you going, oh well she's (laughing).
- [Stacy] Oh my God!
- [Kelly] You took the long way.
(women crying)
- [Mom] I'm so happy to meet you.
(audience clapping)
Oh, thank you!
- You took the long route!
(women laughing)
So, how does it feel to finally see each other in person?
- Oh my gosh,
it's amazing. - It's incredible.
- I don't have a sister, so,
I call her my sister now,
we have so much in common.
She's been my little guardian angel.
Or John's guardian angel.
And this disease, you hear about it
and you think that'll never happen, because--
- I think everyone knows someone.
It's like that thing, unfortunately,
- Right.
- I think everyone knows someone
that's affected by addiction.
- Oh, definitely.
And being involved with your family, my husband,
everybody's so involved, like you.
Everybody's so involved with their families
and you think, "I'd see it".
- [Stacy] Yeah.
- So, phew!
- No, it can happen to anyone.
Everybody who thinks they're above it as well.
It can happen to anyone.
- Exactly, exactly.
- Well, I am so happy that you both found each other.
- Me too! (audience clapping)
- And that the two of you has met, so beautiful.
Before Stacy intervened,
you hadn't heard from John in months, right Kelly?
- No, I haven't heard from him
and days turned in weeks, weeks turned into months.
So, ineffably I just thought the worst.
I just thought the worst and all I could do was pray
that he was fine and hope I didn't get that terrible call.
- Wow, so what was it like to pick up the phone one day
and then all of a sudden just hear John?
- Oh my gosh, well, I have to tell you what happened first.
So, I'm having those "I need a good cry" day,
which I usually don't.
- Oh, girl, I feel you.
- Yeah?
- Yeah!
- And my husband just left to meet our oldest,
to go out do something.
My phone rings, not even two minutes later
and it's John.
The emotions were overwhelming.
I go "oh my gosh!"
Asks him a million questions
and carry on. (audience clapping)
Oh my John, John!
And then, after that, that Mom mode kicked in.
Why haven't you texted me?
(laughing)
- And it turns into using their middle name.
- Exactly, and that's exactly what I did!
- I mean, cause every mama would worry.
That's your baby.
- Exactly.
- No matter how old they are.
- They're always gonna be your baby.
- They're still your baby.
And I said, did, what happened?
Tell me the story
and I said, "Well, whose phone are you using then?"
And then he said, "This nice lady came up to me"
And I said, "Well, thank her for me".
And he put me on speaker.
And I said, "Thank you, Stacy, I really appreciated it,
"I needed that!"
- Oh.
- So, he loved his mama.
- [Kelly] Yeah, well you can tell.
- And that's really clear.
- Even you said, "You wanna call your mom?"
he said, "Yeah, can I use your phone?"
- Yeah.
- Yeah, that was pretty quick.
- It was cool.
- Yeah, so how long has it been since you've seen him?
Not only talked to him,
how long has it been since you've seen John?
- Almost two years.
- Oh my gosh, for a mama, I can't even imagine.
- Yes, yes.
- Wow.
- It's hard.
- Yeah.
- Because, you know.
- I mean, they grow up and go their own way anyway,
but like, especially no knowing where.
- Exactly, you don't know if they're alive
or healthy or what's going on.
- Yeah.
- And you miss them at the holidays,
- Yeah.
- because he is a brother, he is an uncle.
You know, he's a grandson and a son,
most important, you know.
- You are missed.
- Exactly.
- Yeah. - Exactly.
- And that's a lovely thing for him to find out soon.
Well, here's the thing.
John is here.
- No. (audience cheering)
- And he can't wait.
He cannot wait to see his mama in person!
He hasn't seen her in forever.
Are you ready for this?
You ready?
- Yeah.
- Come on out, John!
(audience clapping)
(Mom screaming)
- [John] How are you?
- [Kelly] Come say hi to your momma!
I'm Kelly, by the way, nice to meet you.
(audience clapping)
- Oh my gosh.
Oh my lovely.
- [John] I'm not stinky and dirty now.
(laughing)
- [Stacy] I love you, honey.
- John, Kelly, how does it feel to see each other again?
Two years, that's a long time!
- It is a long time.
- [Kelly] Yes!
- Yes.
- I'm blessed.
Luckiest guy in the wide world, you know.
I've noticed that no matter where I got with traveling,
you know, and no matter where I go,
good hearts, find good hearts
and they'll come together, no matter what.
- Wow.
- You know, and, so.
Yeah, blessed.
(clapping)
- So, how are you doing now?
- I'm doing good.
- [Kelly] You doing good?
- I'm doing good, yeah.
You know, taking it just for a day,
you know, I've been clean and sober for a while now.
I'm actually living--
(audience clapping) - [Kelly] Congratulations!
(John laughing)
That's hard.
- Yeah.
Living on the streets, honestly,
gave me a different perspective in life.
And, you know, I don't need that.
But, you know, you can always build up and start over.
- And you're doing it.
- [John] Right.
- And I'm super proud of you.
- Thank you for that.
- I just met you and it's a super brave thing
just to do this, just to come out here and say that.
But, so, John, something you want to ask your mom?
I thought you may--
- Well, when Kelly ask me,
it feel like I'm proposing to you.
(laughing)
- It just got, like, real Game of Thrones.
- All right, a little bit.
I was honestly wondering if I could just come back home
for a little bit.
- Well, of course you can.
(audience clapping)
- Well, I've taken my bags so I would come back, with you.
- You did, seriously?
- Yeah.
- Oh my gosh!
What a powerful story, y'all.
It's such a beautiful thing to reconnect like that.