Twenty-six years ago Richard Tripp reached into the trunk of his Yellow Cab and lifted a suitcase out for his passenger, something he had done hundreds of times before. This time though, he must have twisted slightly the wrong way, or the suitcase was unusually heavy, because something happened. Two weeks later, Tripp was walking along and his legs suddenly gave out and he fell to the ground. More unfortunately, this happened in front of some co-workers who let his supervisor know what they had seen.

“They said, ‘You can’t work, you can’t drive anymore, we heard stories,'" remembers Tripp. Cab drivers are usually independent contractors, with little or no benefits. It wasn’t long before Tripp lost his apartment and was on the street.

“I think about the scariest thing that ever happened was the day I knew I was kicked out of my apartment and I didn’t have anywhere to go. I had family but I am one of those type of people that don’t believe in letting everybody know my business. I don’t want to be beholden to anybody. So I moved out to I-435 and Truman Road and lived in them caves out there for a couple weeks,” Tripp said.

The caves are too far from any public transportation and Tripp could not make it in town to the day labor services, so he asked around on the street about other options. Tripp ended up living underneath the Broadway bridge for almost a year.

“When I became homeless, the first thing I thought was that I was going to be with bums and them no-gooders. It was scary – but once I got there, I found out they was just like me and you. Only something in their lives had changed them,” Tripp said. "I hear people say the homeless are nuts, they are crazy. Let me tell you something, you live underneath a bridge for a couple months and you tend to become a little crazy.”

Tripp believes that there is a six-month window to rehabilitate the homeless. If they stay out on the street much longer than that a survival mentality sets in.

“They think, ‘Well, I’m not doing too bad. I am living down here in this truck, but I’ve got food stamps and I don’t have any taxes, and I am surviving.’ Once they get that mentality it’s very hard to get them back into social life,” he said.

Tripp's own pathway out of homelessness began when he faced his first approaching winter.

“I was scared I was going to freeze to death down there. The plan I came up with was to get involved with the shelter, because if you got involved with the shelter then you got to eat 24 hours a day and you didn’t have to be kicked out at six in the morning like everyone else” he said.

Tripp began by volunteering to help at ReStart at 9th and Grand at the old Grand Avenue Temple Church. ReStart was new then and, at the time, run by Stuart Whitney. Tripp eventually received a payment of $15 per week for his services.

Tripp credits Whitney with teaching him everything he knows about helping the homeless. One of Tripp’s responsibilities was calling up people and asking for donations of food and other much needed supplies. While working one day, Tripp had an experience that led him to devote his life to a higher calling.

“I was downstairs putting away donations one day and this gentleman and his five-year-old son walked in. He had brought day-old sandwiches. The kid walked up to me and he said, ‘Sir, this is for the homeless, too,’ and he gave me a paper sack. I didn’t think anything about it and I stuck it in my pocket. About ten minutes later Stuart Whitney walked up he said, ‘Tripp, we’ve got a hundred ministers coming in here today and somebody’s got to talk to them. The guy that is supposed to talk to them is sick. So you are elected, since you are the newest staff member.'"

Tripp had never spoken to an audience before and began getting scared and nervous. When he took the stage and looked out at the group of approximately 100 ministerial students, he froze. For some reason, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag that the child had given him.

“To tell you the truth, there was some tears starting, what the little boy had given me was his piggy bank. I thought if a five-year-old boy could do that, how much more could I do?” he said.

When Tripp's back problems eventually lessened, he began driving a cab again to make a living. With only a ninth grade education, he felt that his vision to help the homeless would be best realized by working outside the current system.

Over the years, Tripp has received both acclaim and criticism for his unorthodox methods to help the homeless. He admits to making some enemies because of his criticisms of some of the other shelters. He once picketed The City Union Mission because he did not think some of its policies benefitted the homeless. Several local media outlets covered his protest.

Tripp also created his own 501c3 organization dedicated to helping the homeless: COPP or Care of Poor People. For 20 years, COPP has hosted what he calls “events” that draw hundreds of homeless and near-homeless people for a one-day offering of potluck food, donated clothing, groceries, referral services and, many times, live music from area musicians. From all accounts, his events are more of a celebration for people who have very little to celebrate in their daily lives.

“I do what I do from the heart because I don’t like seeing people kicked when they are down. The homeless and the poor in Kansas City–if anything happens, anything goes wrong–who do they go to? They come to me, they come to that cab. That cab is like a chariot and they all know it," he said.

Driving a cab also has given Tripp the opportunity to share his work with passengers. One day, he picked up Mark Victor Hansen of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” fame. Hansen became his mentor and included one of Tripp’s stories in one of his series of inspirational books. Hansen then went a step further and encouraged Tripp to write his own book, which resulted in “Please Underestimate Me: The Blood, Guts, and Soul of Richard G. Tripp.”

Tripp’s friendship with Hansen has also led to speaking engagements across the country, where Tripp shares the success of COPP's events for the homeless. Tripp said he would like to see the events program replicated in cities throughout the United States.

Each year, COPP hosts two events in Kansas City–one at Thanksgiving and one Tripp calls “Spring Break for the Homeless.” This year's spring event will be on Saturday, April 3, at 3244 Main Street.

"Jackson County Legislator Scott Burnett helped us find a new location after our previous plans fell through," Tripp said. "We'd really like to thank him for doing that."

Tripp said COPP is still in need of all types of donations and volunteers for the spring event. To learn how you can help, visit http://www.coppinc.com.