Couple finds love, new friends in homelessness

William Hampton has lived in Lodi for 18 years and had a successful career, first as a carpenter and then as a building engineer.

He is now homeless.

Hampton, 50, sleeps frequently at The Salvation Army on Sacramento Street [CA], eats breakfast and dinner there and eats lunch at UPtown Thrift, a shop on Sacramento Street in Downtown Lodi [CA].

"A lot of people walk past the homeless, and I was one of them," Hampton said while eating a plate of spaghetti on Monday at UPtown Thrift.

Not any more. Now that he's homeless, Hampton said he's learned to love others who are similarly afflicted.

"There are a lot of good, wonderful people out there," Hampton said about the homeless people he sees around Lodi. "There are carpenters, engineers, people who lost their homes."

Hampton said he once made a six-figure salary, but he's been unemployed for nearly a year. Now he has breakfast and dinner at The Salvation Army in Lodi and eats lunch at the Unity Thrift in the Downtown area.

"No matter how good you've had it, you're one paycheck away from being homeless," Hampton said, sporting an Indiana Pacers sweatshirt that was donated from the thrift shop.

However, Hampton has found happiness in his new life. He is in the process of getting divorced, and he's made some great new friends among the homeless.

And while waiting in line for a meal at The Salvation Army one day, he met Kim Pomeroy, whom he describes as "the love of my life."...See Full Story at LodiNews.com