Ken and Martha Tuck are Alabama Bright Lights practicing Love in Action
Martha Tuck talks with a man at Love in Action Ministries in Dothan. Martha and her husband, Ken, formed Love in Action after Ken had a life-changing conversation with a homeless man in Atlanta. (Karim Shamsi-Basha/Alabama NewsCenter)
The homeless are often ignored, whether they be in large cities or small towns. When they are acknowledged, it’s often with an offering of spare change.
But what about changing your life for the homeless?
That’s exactly what Ken and Martha Tuck have done in Dothan with their ministry, Love in Action.
The seeds for Love in Action were planted in 1999, when Ken Tuck met a homeless man and gave him half an hour instead of money. That encounter changed Tuck’s life.
“It was 1999 and I took a group of men to a conference in Atlanta,” he said. “As we were walking to our hotel that night one of the guys started talking to a homeless man. We all talked to him and really listened for about 30 minutes. His name was Nathaniel and I’ll always remember him. I had never talked to a homeless guy before. As we were leaving he turned around and said, ‘Thanks for not ignoring me.’”
Tuck and his friends stayed on the street that night talking and listening to homeless men. Tuck’s wife, Martha, began caring for homeless women around the same time. Together they formed Love in Action Ministries.
“There are a lot more women in the homeless situation than there used to be,” Martha said. “We had a mother one time who had two teenagers and a little girl living in her car, and still going to school online. We’ve had women in all sorts of bad and abusive situations.”
Love in Action is an Alabama Bright Light for too-often-ignored homeless population from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Love in Action offers much for homeless men and women, but what it provides the most is something intangible, something the homeless need as much as food and shelter.
“First and foremost, we offer these men and women love and hope,” Ken said. “With so many people like Nathaniel, there is no hope. But once they realize that someone cares about them, their whole disposition changes. We show them love and give them hope, and that’s the beginning.”
Love in Action provides food and hygiene items for the homeless in the Dothan area. The Tucks have a clinic with volunteer doctors and nurses to care for people’s physical ailments and wounds. They provide the homeless with shower facilities and washing machines for their clothes.
“Our medical clinic is once a week and we help the homeless with things like high blood pressure and diabetes,” Ken said. “We have dentists who come to do surgeries and fillings. We also have eye care. An eye doctor comes and takes them back to his office, makes glasses for them and has them ready the next week.”
On a recent March day, Ken spoke with a couple of homeless men waiting in the food line. During the conversation, he put his hand on one man’s shoulder and moved in a little closer, a contrast to moves of avoidance the homeless are accustomed to seeing.
The ultimate goal of Love in Action is to get the homeless off the street and help them find a job and housing.
“To see these people come off the streets, to see them get a job and to start living a so-called normal life, a positive life, it’s amazing to see that happen,” Ken said. “You show them they are valued because we see the potential inside of them even when they can’t see it. We have to show them, ‘Hey, you can do this.’”
There were not many smiles as people lined up to get a meal, but the ones I saw were genuine. Then it dawned on me: Love in Action Ministries practices its name exactly: Love … in action.
I have heard before “love is an action verb,” but never saw it practiced as fully as I did in Dothan.
“To me, it’s encouraging and uplifting knowing you’ve helped someone,” Martha said. “It’s not about a good feeling, though. It’s about showing them the love of the Lord and what that love can do in their lives.”
Love in Action will provide an Easter service April 1 at its Dothan location.
The next time you run across a homeless person, try to lend an ear and not just money.
For information or to help, visit www.loveinactionministries.com.
Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our state’s brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning journalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at karimshamsibasha@gmail.com.
