Behind the Badge
When Brian Parrott was at a loss for what to do, he called the Tustin police for help.
The 24-year-old Georgia native had been living on the streets for several weeks with only a small suitcase of clothes to his name.
He told the police he came to Orange County for vacation with a friend. The friend he came with then died in a car crash and Parrott was left with no way to get home.
Although Parrott’s story of how he ended up in Tustin sounded unusual to Community Impact Officer Melissa Trahan, it ultimately didn’t matter.
“He couldn’t tell me where the accident happened and I couldn’t find any record of it,” Trahan said. “But he said he wanted help, so I was going to help him.”
Parrott had been transient for several years while living in Georgia — taking up residence on friends’ sofas when he needed a place to stay.
He told Trahan his indefinite visit to California had to be cut short because he was having trouble finding work.
Trahan asked Parrott to come to the station so they could meet and find a way for him to get home.
“I was going to help him get back to Georgia and I told him that he’d have more support there,” she said. “This is a very difficult area to be in for someone who has no job, no money and no shelter.
“When it came down to it, I just thought it would be worse for him to stay here than to find his way back home.”
The Tustin Police Foundation previously had donated $1,000 to the Coast to Coast Foundation for exactly this kind of thing.
Coast to Coast is a nonprofit that provides services to homeless in Orange County, including reuniting those living on the streets with their families.
There have been success stories several Orange County cities, including Anaheim and Fullerton, and now there is one in Tustin.
Parrott told Trahan instead of returning home, he wanted to head to Florida. There was a man he knew that could give him work at a carnival in DeLand.
Being diligent, Trahan researched to make sure the carnival was, in fact, in town and spoke with the man who would be Parrott’s new boss.
After ensuring Parrott was legally clear to go, Trahan arranged for him to stay a night at the Key Inn Motel in Tustin so he could clean up before his trip.
For about $250, Trahan arranged a flight to Florida and a shuttle from the airport to DeLand. She packed Parrott a lunch bag with a sandwich, chips and other snacks before sending him on his way on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Parrott texted Trahan when he made it safely and also sent a picture of him getting ready for his new gig as a corndog maker at the carnival.
“Thank you for caring and being there for me,” he texted Trahan before promising to update her every now and then on how he is doing.
Trahan double checked that Parrott finished his snacks before leaving him with some final encouragement:
“Use this opportunity to your advantage and make the best of it. Pay it forward.”
