WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Marvin Hyatt had stopped dreaming about tomorrows. He had already lived for 75 years and was homeless for more than half of that.
But seven years ago, Marvin met a stranger, Chantal Rzewnicki, who stopped and cared enough to help him change the trajectory of his life.
"She's about being friends. She's the best friend I've had and will have," Marvin said about Chantal as they sat together in a Macomb County nursing and physical rehabilitation center, where Marvin is finally getting the help including mental health support that he needs.
The two had a chance encounter seven years ago outside a Tim Horton's in Mount Clemens where Marvin sometimes slept by a dumpster.
"I pulled up to Tim Horton's and, to be honest with you, I saw my dad's face. It was blue eyes, long hair and it just kind of took me away," Chantal said. Her father died just a few months earlier.
"There was just something about the look in his eyes that just told me to help. He needed me," she said.
Chantal got money together to get Marvin some food and a night in a motel. And that's when she began that seven year journey to get Marvin on the road to a better life, but it wasn't easy.
"We had to battle getting a birth certificate. We are still battling to get into state ID for him," Chantal said. "We've been through DHS. We've been through the Secretary of State. He's been through Social Security, all trying to just get him somewhere so he can be comfortable."
And because Marvin's health was declining due to him living on the street in bad weather, time wasn't on their side. But thanks to family and friends, Chantal was able to raise money to help Marvin with food and motel rooms due to COVID-19 restrictions at area shelters.
"I'm so grateful. I would not be able to do what I have done without all my people that support me," she said. "His clothes, haircuts, hotel rooms, food, everything has been donated."
And Chantal is no stranger to helping where there is a desperate need.
Chantal is known around metro Detroit for her work rescuing dogs that have been neglected, left to suffer or simply left for dead.
Because of her passion for helping dogs, she and a friend, Melanie Thomas, started an emergency rescue group known as The Karens - K9 Animal Rescue Emergency Networking System. Together, with the help of other volunteers, they go into the darkest, forgotten corners of Detroit to save dogs often found clinging to life.
And it has been many of those people who support her mission to help dogs that have funded her mission to get Marvin to a better place in life.
Recently, when the weather began to get cold, Chantal could see Marvin was running out of time.
"I went to go pick Marvin up and he was frozen," she said. "He couldn't even stand up. I said, 'Let's go. You're going to my house.'"
He was able to sleep comfortably in an area of Chantal's basement. And the first night, when she went to check on him, she found her dog Booey cuddled up next to Marvin, making him feel at home.
Chantal called her mom.
"I just said, 'He can't be on his own. He can't. He's not capable right now. He needs help. He's sick.'"
Chantal's mother Lorri Hool was persistent in helping to make the calls and connections they needed to finally get Marvin into a place where he can get the services he needs to stabilize his physical and mental health.
"That face," Chantal said as she turned to Marvin. "Something about it just told me to keep pushing — one day we'll get there."
And Marvin knows how much it means to Chantal to see finally him in a better space.
"I don't want to do nothing to hurt this lady and I know if I go back out there, it's going to hurt her worse than it's going to hurt me," Marvin said. "I never met anybody like her. She cares about me. She cares where I'm at."
Chantal is grateful to see Marvin moving in the right direction.
"It took a long time, but I am thankful that we're where we're at today," she said. "I'm hoping that he can continue to get the care that he needs. And, for the rest of his life, live inside and never have to go back to the streets."
If you'd like to follow Marvin's progress, Chantal will be posting updates on her Facebook page.
You can also follow her dedicated work to save dogs on The Karen's Facebook page.
