Stanley man feeds the homeless to make most of his ‘second chance’

STANLEY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – What would it take to renew your faith? Something drastic made David Ward rethink everything.

“God said, as you feed the least, you fed me also,” he said at his Stanley home.

“It takes the full circle,” says Ward, whose growing circle of friends packs the house with whatever is needed, from canned food to toiletries.

Last Christmas, he started an effort to feed the homeless called Moving Mountains Ministries. The group serves one meal every day with the help of volunteers and local businesses.

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“I wanted to help people that couldn’t barely help themselves,” Ward told Queen City News.

While we were at his house, Ward’s mom whipped up a batch of egg salad sandwiches.

“My sister said, ‘You cannot feed them every day.’ And I said, ‘You’re right, I can’t, but God can,’” says Ward.

When he faced his own mortality last year, he wanted to make the most of his time.

“You never know when your last breath is,” said Ward.

Last spring, a septic kidney stone poisoned his blood.

“I see death,” he says of the photos of him lying in a hospital bed.

He says authorities came to do a welfare check on him.

“I was on a ventilator for eight days,” said Ward, with tears in his eyes. “So that’s why [I do it] I got a second chance, they deserve.”

When he says “they,” he means the homeless.

Moving Mountains has fed those less fortunate every day since Christmas. The group also delivers essentials to unhoused men and women. He even gives out bicycles to those who need one.

We went with Ward to a homeless camp in Gastonia, where he introduced us to Debra, who’s learned to trust him.

“A lot of people around Gaston County don’t help, he does,” she said.

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About seven people live in the camp she stays at. Ward delivers more than just food; he also gives them compassion in a sometimes-cruel world.

Gastonia Police asked Debra and others to move out of the site. She’ll have to leave that site soon.

“People say, ‘Why do you help them?’” Ward said, miffed by the question.

Debra was evicted in 2022 and has been homeless ever since. Her two children live with her mother-in-law. She says it’s dangerous in camps all over the county.

“I’ve had a few bullets fly by my head,” Debra says. “So, it’s scary out here, you have to watch your back every time. 
“I don’t want to be away from my kids,” she said.

“I’d just like for more people to come out and respond to them and meet them,” Ward suggested.

“This world’s gotten to where people are judgmental,” Debra says. “That’ll judge people before they think. Not everybody’s out here on drugs.”

“That’s what hurts us when they think that,” she added, as tears ran down her face.

There are about 900 homeless men and women in Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland counties.

A small operation out of Ward’s house can’t begin to address all the need. Everyone he touches is worth it, he believes.

“They have a heart, they have flesh, they bleed the same color as me and you,” Ward said.

Hospital photos remind him that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

He frequently joins men and women in a moment of prayer.

“Love you, Debra,” Ward said after praying with her.

“If you need me, you know my number,” he added.

“Yes, I do,” she says.

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