Grocery Store Hires Homeless Woman Who Was Living Out of Her Car and Sleeping in Their Parking Lot

Earlier this year, LaShenda Williams was homeless. She was living in her car which she parked in a certain parking spot in the Kroger grocery store parking lot. She didn’t have anywhere to go, and she didn’t know how to get out of this low spot in her life.

Then, one day in January, Williams walked inside Kroger looking for something to eat. As she walked around the store, she met a woman named Jackie Vandal who happened to be the hiring manager at Kroger, and Kroger also just so happened to be having a job fair. Vandal encouraged Williams to apply for a job.

As soon as Williams finished filling out the job application, Vandal told her she was hired. She has no idea that Williams was living in her car. She only knew that Williams seemed to be in a tough spot, and she wanted to help.

It ended up being an amazing decision for both women. Vandal describes Williams as “a fantastic, cheerful employee. She is a fantastic worker. I wish I had 120 of her.”

One day a customer named Verlenteez Williams was in the store, and he found out that LaShenda Williams had just moved into her own apartment. That’s a great step forward, but she still needed to be able to furnish that apartment. Verlenteez Williams decided to give her a few things to help her get started, and he also decided to post on the local East Nashville Facebook page to see if anyone else in the community had something to donate.

Verlenteez Williams was hoping the community would find a couple chairs or something to give LaShenda Williams, “But no, it was an outpouring of over 200 people and people are still trying to donate.” Now Williams has everything she needs including a queen size bed and kitchen appliances.

LaShenda Williams is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from Kroger and from the community she lives in. Watch the video below to see her at work and hear her reaction to all of the love she has been shown.

Verlenteez Williams told Good Morning America, “It’s a reminder to be kind. Regardless of what’s going on … be kind and you never know the impact you can have on someone’s life.”

Vandal said that LaShenda Williams “has changed our lives. We are more thankful, we are more appreciative, we are more happy — we feed off that uplifting spirit she has.”