An Easter gift: A lesson in compassion from a woman on the streets of Chico

When Tim VanderHeiden spotted her, the Woman in the Red Coat was lying on the sidewalk near the intersection of East Avenue and the Esplanade, clinging to a red shopping cart.

He was busy, on his way to a family brunch on a beautiful, bright Easter Sunday. But the woman made him pause. He’d been in this situation before.

Two weeks earlier, he was driving on Second Avenue and noticed a homeless man lying on a yellow, detectable warning paver, where the sidewalk meets the street. A young man who also was driving by that day stopped and jumped out of his car, leaving his door ajar and his vehicle in the roadway. He raced across the street to see if the man was OK.

Tim admittedly found himself feeling bitter and annoyed—the man probably was drunk or high, he thought, and now was blocking the sidewalk and causing unnecessary chaos. He watched as the young man spoke with him briefly and made sure he was alright before getting back in his car.

As Tim drove by the Woman in the Red Coat, however, he thought of that young man and his immediate, unquestioning impulse to come to the aid of a stranger who appeared to need help.

Tim felt compelled to do something different this time. He decided to make a U-turn. He parked his car and walked to the Woman in the Red Coat with the brown hair.

As Tim approached her, he noticed one of her hands was twisted, tightly gripping the handle of the shopping cart at an uncomfortable angle.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“Oh, God, thank you,” she said. “I’ve been here 45 minutes. I fell. Every time I try to get up, the cart rolls.”

Tim extended his hands to help her up, and she took them. The Woman in the Red Coat, with the brown hair and the piercing blue eyes, smiled at him.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “I’m so sorry my hands are dirty.”

She explained to Tim that it had been difficult for her to get around lately. Six months ago, she was hit by a car and broke 23 of her bones. She was still recovering.

Tim listened to her story, and asked her if she had a safe place to stay. He knew of a place in town, the Torres Community Shelter, where she could stay and receive meals and supportive services while she recovered.

The Woman in the Red Coat just offered a coy little smile and said she had somewhere to stay. She thanked Tim again, telling him how grateful she was that he stopped to help her.

Then she said goodbye.

Tim couldn’t get the Woman in the Red Coat out of his mind. He wondered how many people had seen her struggling and chose to keep driving. Later that week, he did some research, scouring the city of Chico’s website, and found staggering data: during peak hours of the day, thousands of people drive through that intersection.

That sweet, fragile woman in a red coat had struggled to get up for nearly an hour, he thought, until someone finally stopped to see if she was OK.

It only took one car, one person to stop for one moment and offer her a hand to help her up.

Epilogue:

Tim hasn’t seen the Woman in the Red Coat since that Easter Sunday on April 1, 2018. But he thinks of her often, especially during this holiday.

Meeting the Woman in the Red Coat was a gift. To Tim, she was an angel on the streets of Chico who reminded him that just one small act of compassion can make all the difference.

It’s a reminder he carries with him every day as chairman of the Board of Directors for True North Housing Alliance, a local nonprofit organization that moves people forward and out of homelessness, with compassion, dignity and accountability.

How to help:

Did Tim’s story inspire you? Please consider donating to our organization. One small act of kindness can make a world of difference.