2021 Difference Maker of the Year answered calling to help homeless

Michelle Hessling was named the 2021 Difference Maker of the Year on Thursday night by the Daily American Republic.

DAR/Paul Davis

On a crumpled piece of notebook paper, an anonymous woman wrote, “Whomever you are, you are truly something special… I can’t stop crying… just can’t put into words how much what you’re doing truly touches my heart…”

The note was left behind at a drop spot where Michelle Hessling and those she has organized leave supplies for Poplar Bluff’s homeless residents.

Hessling has organized many of these drop-off locations. She leaves behind a notebook where those who pick up the items can let her know their needs, and many times finds a thank you note.

Another note from a man and woman thanked her for something as simple as socks. Their own had been stolen one night while they slept, the couple wrote.

Hessling was named the 2021 Difference Maker of the Year for the volunteer work she says she was moved by God to start in 2020.

“I couldn’t drive by anymore and not do something for them,” said Hessling. “It’s heartbreaking to know this isn’t something that’s happening in a large city… It’s right here in Poplar Bluff.”

Hessling knew in her heart God had called her, but didn’t know what the mission would be, Daily American Republic Publisher Chris Pruett said Thursday night, announcing the Difference Maker of the Year to approximately 500 guests at the Black River Coliseum.

She prayed for guidance, and in the middle of a pandemic, found her mission in the faces of Poplar Bluff’s homeless people.

“(She is) someone willing to go the extra mile, meet them on the streets where they live … find out exactly what they need to survive,” he said.

It’s hard to know the number of homeless the city has, according to Hessling.

They are wary of strangers, often finding judgment, ridicule or abuse rather than a helping hand, she has found.

“To see someone’s face light up because you provide a dollar snack or a pair of gloves … is humbling,” said Hessling, who works as a community health educator in Stoddard County.

It makes her think of what she has to go home to — a warm place to live, food and comfort.

“These are people just like us that don’t have that. They don’t know where these things are coming from,” said Hessling. “Just to see the look on their faces when someone shows them some compassion, some love, is more than I can even explain.”

Hessling is quick to say the work that has been done in the past year is not hers alone. It also comes from the assistance of friends and church members not only in Butler County, but also Stoddard, Wayne and Cape Girardeau counties.

Early in her efforts, Hessling shared in a Facebook post that in just five weeks, donations had included more than 5,000 non-perishable food items, and 100 each of warm hats, gloves, socks, blankets and coats.

“Only God knows the true number of homeless in our community, but what I do know is that it’s not my place to judge why they are homeless, and I will show them the mercy that God shows me daily,” Hessling wrote at the time. “Each deserves the opportunity to be warm at night during these cold days. They deserve compassion, patience and their basic needs met without anyone expecting anything in return.”

Hessling hopes the work she and others involved in the effort have done will lead to more.

“I would love to see a shelter, a place for the homeless to be able to go, to wash their clothes, to get a meal, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, 24-7,” she said. “Someplace where there’s not a long list of requirements that they have to go through… that they could come to as a family, that it’s not a men’s only or women’s only.”

Her dream may come true.

Hessling was nominated as a Difference Maker by her friend Chris Taylor.

“Michelle has a heart of gold,” said Taylor. “She saw a need in our community and took it upon herself to make that her mission. For many here in Poplar Bluff, Michelle has stoked a fire that inspires us to want to do more for others.”

Hessling is married to Joey Hessling and has two sons. She is the health educator at the Stoddard County Health Center in Bloomfield.