Father and son protect homeless in freezing temperatures

When Jeff Barnett looked at the local Alabama weather forecast and saw several days in the single digits, he didn’t groan. 

“Winter weather has never bothered me. It reminds me how blessed I am to be safe and warm,” says Jeff, a Leidos department manager. “But this time, I also realized how much the brutal weather would challenge people who have to stay outside.”

Jeff was concerned about how the weather would impact the homeless near his community. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the homeless population in Alabama has risen 12% since 2020.

On this particular Sunday, he’d already considered what he could do with his son, Grahame. With his seven-year-old sidekick buckled up in their truck, Jeff headed to Costco. He explained why they were going to load up on warm clothing: to help those in need. Grahame took up the charge with gusto.

“He helped me find things that would get us the most bang for our buck, so we could help as many people as possible,” Jeff says of Grahame who tracked down beanies, gloves, warm socks and jackets. “He has a big heart and wants to give generously.”

Armed with full winter outfits for four people, they searched for their first beneficiary. By the end of the day, Jeff had found a homeless camp and given out all the clothing they’d bought. He also met other volunteers who had compiled a list of needs by name. 

Personal connections brought in more help

“Having a list with people’s names on it really moved me, knowing we were helping these exact people survive this cold snap,” Jeff says. He decided to share the list with his friends and co-workers, asking for lightly used or new donations. Many rose to the occasion, some sending money to help purchase the items. Jeff and his friend, Marc, visited different stores to collect what was needed.

“We quickly knocked out everything on the list,” he says. A few times, Jeff had just stepped out of a store only to find more donated funds in his Venmo balance. Each time, he would turn right back around to purchase more needed items like boots, coats and coveralls. 

“I sent photos to people who’d donated so they could see what we bought and told them the name of the person they were helping keep warm,” Jeff says. After revolving in and out of stores all over town, he and Marc bought the city out of coveralls. 

“We found everyone in the camp by name and delivered our goods Sunday night and again on Monday,” Jeff says. 

Many people would stop there. Jeff didn’t, especially because he still had donated funds to help. So, he asked a few people in the camp about their needs beyond warm clothing. 

“I wanted to listen and learn from the people living in the camp,” he says. “We found out many of them use propane heaters to stay warm, but it’s hard for them to transport and refill their tanks.”

So, Jeff and his friend Tom answered the call. Together, they gathered people’s tanks, took down names, and explained how they’d exchange the empty tanks for full ones they could bring back. 

“We exchanged 19 tanks that first day,” Jeff says. Two days later, with temperatures still in the single digits, he revisited the camp.

“I met up with the people I’d helped before, and they pointed me to others who could use propane. We were able to gather 13 more tanks to exchange. Academy Sports had exactly 13 tanks—we bought them out of propane. Over three days, we exchanged 32 tanks.”

The total short-term impact

“Including all the generous personal donations people paid for individually or donated from their closets, we donated about $2,500 worth of supplies to the camp over the four days,” Jeff says. 

He adds that he couldn’t have done this without roughly two dozen generous people who donated their time or money. This includes friends from his local gym, CrossFit Impulse, as well as former and current Leidos colleagues Eli Schuette, Cooper Smith, Phil Zink, Anna Grace Miller, Josh Nation, Max Peterson, Josh Ellard, Reid Sisk, Jake Mitchell, and Ethan Vought for contributing to the effort.

A former Marine, Jeff has never shied away from opportunities to help. He looks for ways to make a positive direct impact however he can—even if the need isn’t exactly local. After seeing families get evacuated from their rooftops following Hurricane Harvey’s flooding, for instance, he couldn’t sit still. So he, his friend Nathan, and fellow Leidos colleague, Chris Webster, bought a boat and drove from northern Alabama to Texas. 

“I don’t wait for the perfect solution. I do whatever I can directly and quickly, and I’m thankful that I have the job flexibility to help those in need,” Jeff says. “If I’m blessed with both the skills and the comfort to navigate these situations, why not try to help? Helping a fellow human being without judgment is a powerful way to show we care, and it can have a lasting impact on their life.”