One North Carolina business owner is helping the homeless by opening up his parking lot to people who may be living out of their cars.

James Charles is the owner of Kiplin’s Automotive Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. For about two months, he has been encouraging people sleeping in their cars to use the company’s parking lot as a safe place to sleep at night.

Charles was first encouraged to do something helpful after his team tried to take back a woman’s car back in January.

“The gentleman who was taking back the car said, ‘We can’t take the car; there’s somebody living in the car,’” Charles told WBTV.

Then he tried to get the woman into a homeless shelter (收容所). But he was shocked to find that every shelter in the city was full. Although he paid for her to stay in a hotel for a few nights, he knew that there were other people suffering from the same thing.

Charles made a Facebook post: “We would like to provide a safe place for those going through this tough time. We can’t put everyone in a hotel, but we can get you a safe place for the night.

Since more and more people have shared his post, people have donated (捐赠) hats, scarves, food, and even an easy-to-move toilet for the parking lot. Not only that, but about 20 different people have helped Charles with his offer by parking their cars overnight at the lot.

These kind acts also made it possible for Charles to start his non-profit (非盈利的) organization, HALO Now. The organization was set up to raise money for the homeless people of Charlotte — and he has raised more than US$30,000.

In the northern part of Austin there once dwelt an honest family by the name of Smothers. The family consisted of John Smothers, his wife, himself, their little daughter, five years of age, and her parents, making six people toward the population of the city when counted for a special write-up, but only three by actual count.

One night after supper the little girl was seized with a severe colic, and John Smothers hurried down town to get some medicine.

He never came back. The little girl recovered and in time grew up to womanhood. The mother grieved very much over her husband’s disappearance, and it was nearly three months before she married again, and moved to San Antonio. The little girl also married in time, and after a few years had rolled around, she also had a little girl five years of age. She still lived in the same house where they dwelt when her father had left and never returned.

One night by a remarkable coincidence her little girl was taken with cramp colic on the anniversary of the disappearance of John Smothers, who would now have been her grandfather if he had been alive and had a steady job.

“I will go downtown and get some medicine for her,” said John Smith (for it was none other than he whom she had married).

“No, no, dear John,” cried his wife. “You, too, might disappear forever, and then forget to come back.”

So John Smith did not go, and together they sat by the bedside of little Pansy, After a while, Pansy seemed to grow worse, and John Smith again attempted to go for medicine, but his wife would not let him. Suddenly the door opened, and an old man, stooped and bent, with long white hair, entered the room.

“Hello, here is grandpa,” said Pansy, She had recognized him before any of the others.

The old man drew a bottle of medicine from his pocket and gave Pansy a spoonful. She got well immediately.

“I was a little late,” said John Smothers, “as I waited for a streetcar.”

Some people are never right. They never have good luck. They usually do the wrong things and say the wrong things. And even if what they say and do is OK, they say it or do it at the wrong time. So these people always have problems. They often break glasses. They sometimes miss buses or trains.

Mr.Neff is different. He is always right. He is never wrong. He usually has good luck. He hardly has problems. He never misses buses and trains. Even though he really misses them, it is always the fault of the buses and the trains.

Mr. Neff knows almost everything. He doesn’t ask questions. He answers questions. He never says “I don’t know”．

I don’t know Mrs. Neff. It seems that not many people know her. I sometimes want to know about her. Is she always right? Or maybe she is always wrong? Does she often break glasses or miss buses and trains?

Does she have problems? I really want to know!