Charity of Poor People

                        He was not your typical cabbie. As we took off from
                        the downtown Hyatt en route to the Kansas City Airport, he
                        drove by what appeared to be a sparsely furnished office in
                        a relatively seedy section of downtown. Then he said proudly,
                        "That's my office!" The window front said "COPP" on it. He
                        said, "I take care of the invisible 10,000 Kansas City
                        homeless out of there." I could sense the emotion in his
                        words. My eyes started tearing up.

                        "Yep," Richard Tripp said, "I feed 800 people Christmas
                        breakfast when they get kicked out of the regular shelters
                        that are preparing for Christmas dinner. I started COPP
                        (Charity of Poor People) when I got back on my feet again
                        after being homeless for six months. I'd been hackin' for
                        20 years and got too many speedin' tickets, lost my license
                        and was suddenly homeless. It wasn't too bad. See those
                        truckin' yards? They got heavy plastic that I pulled out of
                        their garbage cans. Heavy duty plastic makes a rainproof
                        tent and sleepin' bag that'll keep you alive. I slept in
                        those woods over there every night for six months. If
                        someone's homeless over six months, nine out of ten of `em
                        will stay permanently homeless. I give `em a new choice and
                        a chance.

                        "We don't take no money - only food, long johns, and
                        real stuff the homeless need now. I go on the radio and
                        get lots of stuff.

                        "Last year a husband and wife who heard me on the
                        radio came into COPP, and I touched `em because I talk with
                        my heart. The couple's five-year-old daughter got killed by
                        a hit-and-run driver. They gave gloves to 800 people in
                        memory of their daughter. It was the best and most useful
                        gift I ever saw anyone give. Everyone thanked `em and
                        cried because their hands would not freeze anymore."

                        Because of Richard Tripp, 5,000 of the 10,000
                        homeless people in Kansas City have been served meals
                        and provided clothing on a yearly basis.

                        By Mark Victor Hansen