Kroger Hires Homeless Woman Who Had Been Sleeping in Parking Lot: 'Proud To Have Her as an Associate'
A good attitude can get you a long way, even when you don’t have much else to your name — and LaShenda Williams is a prime example of that.
Williams has gone through some serious lows in her life: Abuse, addiction and homelessness are just a few of the life experiences she’s weathered.
For some time, she slept in her car — but she had to work to make sure no one caught on.
“I would lean my seat all the way back so no one would see me because, you know, I knew I wasn’t supposed to be there,” the 46-year-old told NBC News.
She was staying in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store in Tennessee earlier this year, and that proved to be a saving grace.
Hiring manager Jackie Vandal said she’d recognized Williams as a regular, but she didn’t know the background behind just how much of a regular she was.
She posted a hiring flier, and that’s when she got to know a bit more about the familiar face.
“Will y’all hire me? You got room for me?” Williams asked Vandal, according to the Nashville Tennessean.
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Immediately, Vandal felt a pull toward Williams. There was something about the upbeat woman that convinced Vandal to give her a chance.
“You get a feel if someone’s sincere or if they’re just trying to get a job to say they got one and then quit a month later,” Vandal told the Tennessean. “She was very sincere.”
“It was just a sense, a gut feeling,” she told NBC. “You can just tell when people are really genuine.”
One problem: Vandal couldn’t hire Williams without an official online application being submitted. Williams did have an old laptop, but no way to power it, so the two worked together, and it wasn’t long before Williams was set up near an outlet, filling out the digital paperwork.
As soon as she submitted the application, Vandal hired her — with a promise: “Don’t you worry about anything. I’m going work you to death, and we’ll take care of you.”
Williams’ life looks very different now. She’s managed to find a place to live, and is a bright light at the grocery store she used to frequent as a homeless customer.
“Don’t let anybody steal your joy!” she is known to say while on the job. “It’s going to be a great day!”
“I was sleeping in a parking lot and looking for something to eat,” she told the Tennessean. “Now, all my babies here love on me. No one abuses me, and no one calls me dumb and stupid. For the first time in my life, I finally got peace.”
She’s gone above and beyond, and has even caught the eye and heart of other managers as well.
“We are so lucky to have Lashenda as part of our Kroger family,” corporate affairs manager Melissa Eads of the Kroger Nashville division told People.
“Her uplifting spirit is contagious. She has made such a positive impact on her fellow team members, and so many customers as well. We are so proud to have her as an associate.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
