In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Lecrae teamed up with the non-profit organization, Love Beyond Walls, to assemble and disperse 15 portable hand-washing stations around Atlanta on Thursday (March 19).
“When the pandemic hit, I thought, ‘What is the homeless community doing about these warnings,’” he told Atlanta’s WSB-TV 2.
Lecrae and Terrence Lester, executive director at Love Beyond Walls, have known each other for years. The two, along with a team from the organization, began assembling the sanitary stations Thursday morning. The portable stations hold five gallons of water and include soap dispensers filled with soap. The water and soap can be refilled as needed. They also handed out free sandwiches, drinks and cheeseburgers to people in the area.
“There are three ways to tap in when major issues arise in society,” said Lecrae. “One is publicity – making your voice known and speaking out, whether it’s on social media or otherwise. Two is policies – making sure you’re informed and involved in laws that benefit us. Three is productivity – making sure you’re productive, and for some of us, right now, that means staying home.”
According to the Georgia Department of Health, there are at least 287 reported cases of COVID-19 in the state, and 10 fatalities.
Lecrae, who is a native of Houston, has lived in Atlanta for a decade. “It’s a major city and in a major city, like this, it speaks very loud. The love is loud, appreciation is loud, but the problems are loud as well,” he explained. “The city has shown me so much love, so I wanted to be sure to show it back.”
Dmitry, was the first person to use the station yesterday to wash his hands.
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He told us he hadn’t been able to wash his hands because he hadn’t had any water. This was his first response!
.#lovebeyondwalls @lovebeyondwalls pic.twitter.com/rGmsYTLpFV— lovebeyondwalls (@LoveBeyondWalls) March 19, 2020