THE GLADES, Fla. -- Pastor Eric Payne is on a mission to changes lives.
"There's a housing shortage housing crisis in the Glades," he says.
Saturday morning, he laced up his shoes to run for the cause.
His wife Theresa was nearby.
He said, "Most people right now, they just look at me like I'm crazy. They take a double take and say 'what, where, State Road 80?"
He's running 40 miles to help the less fortunate.
"I have been homeless. My wife has a personally story too. personally testimony about being homeless and frankly it has nothing to do with being lazy. It has nothing to do with drug addiction, alcoholism. It had to do with sometimes people go through things. Sometimes there are experiences, unfortunate things that happen that place you in a situation where you have no place to stay," said Payne.
He wants to raise $250,000 to help those living without a home get back on their feet again.
"When they come into our presence, when they come into our facility, we want to be able to provide more than just shelter, housing. We want to literally navigate them to help change their lives," Payne said.
He's a pastor with big dreams.
"The hope is that we do this we get a favorable response from it. We get this building, we get this shelter, we get it going. And that every year, maybe even twice a year, we will have people doing the 'Run to Belle Glade' right here on State Road 80."
You can find more information on the project at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/realeric.payne
