(WTVD)
Two days after calling 911 because he had no food in his fridge, 81-year-old Clarence Blackmon is now being flooded with food donations and offers of help, WTVD reported.
On Tuesday, Blackmon returned home after months in the hospital for cancer treatment to find an empty refrigerator. He called 911 to ask for food and, with the help of local police officers, 911 operator Marilyn Hinson personally delivered groceries.
“I can’t do anything,” he told Hinson. “I can’t go anywhere. I can’t get out of my…chair.”
“He was hungry. I’ve been hungry. A lot of people can’t say that, but I can, and I can’t stand for anyone to be hungry,” Hinson told WTVD.
Now, Blackmon’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing as people call to offer food and help, and his shelves and countertops are overflowing with food.
"We had numerous calls, emails, folks calling us directly, calling the call center, calling 911 saying, ‘How can we help Mr. Blackmon?’” Fayetteville Officer Antoine Kincade told WTVD.
According to the news channel, the private rehab center that had discharged Blackmon failed to notify the Department of Social Services (DSS) that he was going home. On Wednesday, a DSS social worker spent several hours with him and are now taking care of his needs.
Blackmon has asked that donations now go to the Salvation Army to help others.
"I want everyone that goes hungry, or lives under a bridge, at least they can go to the Salvation Army. They can get some good food," Blackmon told WTVD.
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