00:00Remembering Arnold Abbott, the man who fed the homeless despite the law.
00:05Arnold Abbott, a 90-year-old World War II veteran, was arrested in November 2014 for feeding homeless people in Fort Lauderdale.
00:12An officer told him, drop that plate right now, as if he were holding a weapon.
00:18Abbott and his wife, Maureen, began feeding the homeless in 1979.
00:21After her death in 1991, Abbott founded Love Thy Neighbor Fund and created a culinary training school that graduated over 400 formerly homeless individuals.
00:32Fort Lauderdale passed a law in October 2014 restricting public feedings, requiring sites to be 500 feet apart, 500 feet from homes, and include portable toilets.
00:43Abbott recognized this as an attempt to push homeless people out of the city.
00:47Despite being charged three times in two weeks and facing jail time, Abbott continued serving meals.
00:53He told reporters, these are the poorest of the poor.
00:56They have nothing.
00:57They don't have a roof over their head.
00:58Who can turn them away?
01:00Abbott's arrest sparked national outrage.
01:03He declared, I am my brother's keeper and promise to continue as long as there is breath in my body.
01:08Others joined his cause, setting up feeding stations outside City Hall.
01:11In December 2014, a court temporarily halted the law, allowing Abbott to continue his work.
01:18He served meals every Wednesday for another five years, until his death in 2019 at age 94.
01:25Abbott's legacy continues to inspire people to choose compassion over legal restrictions.
01:30His story demonstrates that when laws target the vulnerable, someone must stand up for what's right.
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