The world is standing with Manchester following the horrific terrorist attack on Monday night that claimed the lives of 22 concert-goers, many of whom were children. Juxtaposing the anger and grief, one man has become a hero.
West Ham United offers 6 months of free rent for homeless man who helped Manchester attack victims
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Thirty-five-year-old Stephen Jones — a homeless man in Manchester — began assisting victims of the bombing before emergency responders had time to arrive. Now his selfless acts and care for humanity are capturing the attention of the world — and West Ham United.
Jones was sleeping outside the arena the night of the explosion. The blast knocked him to the ground, but immediately after, he ran toward the arena to begin assisting the injured.
Stephen’s personal accounts of what he witnessed are unimaginable. He helped pull nails out of the arms and faces of children and provided critical medical aid to the injured until more help could arrive.
West Ham United reaches out to help
On Tuesday morning, the world learned of his heroism, and the news reached John and Dave Sullivan — joint chairmen of the West Ham United football club. They launched a social media search for Jones to give back to the hero for his selfless act.
The Sullivans are now working with area charities to assist Steve by renting him a house, supplying him with clothes, and assisting in helping him find a job.
This wasn’t the only story of heroism from Monday night.
A second homeless man — 33-year-old Chris Parker — leapt to action immediately following the explosion as well, and has a similarly harrowing story.
In a profile by The New York Times, he discussed how he wrapped a young girl in a T-shirt who’d lost her legs in the blast and held a 60-year-old woman who died in his arms. The man did all this without knowing whether an attack was still ongoing and with no concern for his own safety. He was driven by a simple instinct to help other people.
The world learned of Chris’ heroism later on Tuesday, and his story became another ray of light that shined through the grief. Immediately people wanted to support this hero to get back on his feet, so a GoFundMe was opened in his name. As of Wednesday morning, a total of 31,000 pounds had been raised.
The Sullivans learned about the second hero after pledging to help Steve. Now they’re continuing the work to help another man, marginalized by society, who risked everything just to help.
