Costa, who feeds the homeless in front of his business on Sunnymead Boulevard once a week, held a holiday party on Thursday. Months ago the duo, both 64 and initially strangers, teamed up to help a small group of homeless people. Costa hands out free hot dogs, soda and chips every Friday. Tabor took under her wing a man who was living behind her store. Costa collects money to feed the pets of homeless people. Rescue workers donate dog and cat food and whisk surrendered animals to a no-kill shelter.
To buy gifts, he used the proceeds from a bunch of inch color TVs that a friend donated. Family members helped him apply for Medi-Cal and pick up his unclaimed Supplemental Security Income checks. Rudolph sits in front of Carpet Time of Moreno Valley holding signs he bought to advertise her business. Rudolph needs his ulcerated left foot amputated because of the ravages of untreated diabetes.
Rudolph first appeared at the free feeds in October after Costa grilled franks on the premises for 20 suppliers who attended a seminar he hosted. When more homeless people than plumbers queued up for the grub, Costa decided to make the barbecue a regular thing. So far, no officials have complained, Costa said. A former drug addict who has been on the streets three years, she and her boyfriend live behind the former Home Base. At the Christmas party, Williams, 40, smiled broadly after opening her present, a box filled with clothes, underwear, sneakers and toiletries.
Costa can empathize with the homeless from firsthand experience. An abandoned child at 14, he quit school, slept in the back of a truck and hustled surfboard rentals on the beaches of Honolulu to survive. He came to the mainland in to visit an aunt, and stayed on to learn the plumbing trade, which has supported him for 41 years. Show Caption. By Laurie Lucas llucas scng. More in Local News.
