You probably don’t know Mildred Sue Jones, better known simply as “Miss Mildred,” but if you’ve spent any time around downtown Columbus, particularly along Highway 45, you have no doubt seen her.
The tiny woman, her short hair most often covered with a bandana, spends her days pushing a shopping cart along Highway 45, mostly along the stretch of highway between the Highway 82 interchange and Main Street, often doing odd jobs at stores along the way to help support herself. If you have attended First United Methodist Church, you may have encountered her out front, passing out church bulletins at Sunday morning services.
In her years as a city patrol officer, Rhonda Sanders frequently encountered her and began to get to know her.
“She is a nice lady, but she’s quiet,” said Sanders, a Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant and director for the nonprofit Community Benefit Committee. “She won’t talk much until she really gets to know you. Unless you’ve been out and have talked to people on the streets, it’s hard for people to connect with people who are having issues.”
About five months ago, Sanders said she began getting reports about Miss Mildred.
“We started getting calls that she was limping and that she was out in traffic,” Sanders said. “People were worried about her.”
Sanders and other LCSO deputies found Miss Mildred and began slowly learning her story.
“Thank goodness for that,” Sanders said. “It just put in on our hearts to help her.”
Sanders arranged for Miss Mildred to see a doctor.
“It looks like she’s going to have a hip replacement,” Sanders said.
The Community Benefit Committee also is in the process of finding Mildred an apartment and furnishings, as well as helping her manage her finances, apply for eligible services and getting her re-enrolled in other services that have lapsed.
“I asked her one time, ‘Miss Mildred, why are you homeless?'” Sanders said. “You are eligible for all this stuff. Why haven’t you had your EBT card in six months? Why haven’t you had your (health) insurance recertified in a year?’
“You know what she told me?” she added. “She said, ‘No one listens.’ It’s hard for people with issues like Miss Mildred to go into building and communicate with people.”
Sanders made up her mind to listen. Others are listening, too.
When Miss Mildred wished aloud that she could get her hair shampooed and styled, Sanders knew just who to call: Karletta Harris, owner of Transformation by Karella, a hair salon on Gardner Boulevard.
“I’m the third generation of hair stylists in my family,” Harris said. “It started with my grandmother. When I started beauty school, my grandmother would take me to nursing homes and we would do the hair of the men and women there. They were always so grateful. For us, helping people is kind of a family tradition, too.”
Harris had encountered Miss Mildred plenty of times.
“I’d stop at the convenience store to get a drink or something and I’d see her,” Harris said. “I’d say, ‘Hello’ but she wouldn’t even speak to me.”
When Miss Mildred arrived at her salon, Harris began working on her hair.
“After a little bit, she finally opened up,” Harris said. “You could tell she was loving having her hair shampooed and styled. What woman doesn’t like that? She was so happy. I reminded her about other times we saw each other. I said, ‘I guess we’re talking now, aren’t we?’ She just smiled.”
Sanders said the help is a long-term commitment.
“We’re not just going to put her in an apartment and say, ‘OK, Miss Mildred. Now go live.’ We’re going to watch after her, make sure she’s being checked on, that’s she’s on her medications. Make sure her bills are getting paid.”
That kind of help requires money. And help is on the way, Sanders said.
“It’s really a community effort,” Sanders said. “We can’t do this by ourselves.”
A GoFundMe account — “Hope for Miss Mildred” — has raised almost $6,000.
On Sunday, Zachary’s Restaurant will hold a fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. selling catfish dinners. The proceeds will be deposited into the BankFirst account (Help for Miss Mildred) set up in Miss Mildred’s name.
“I love me some Doug Pellum,” Sanders said of Zachary’s owner. “I texted him that we wanted to have a fundraiser, but it was hard to do with COVID going on. He didn’t hesitate for a second. He said, ‘Let us help.'”
Sanders hopes others in the community will be inspired to help out.
“We can’t do this on our own,” she said. “We’re always better together. People can help by donation to her account at BankFirst.”
Sanders often reflects on what Miss Mildred told her about not being listened to.
“When she told me that, I began to imagine what it must be like to live in a world where no one listens to you,'” Sanders said. “She’s a very nice lady. She’s just lost her way.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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