Rick Nicholson is not your average volunteer for the homeless community.

The 51-year-old, himself, is homeless.

“It came to be. It’s not something I planned and, you know, it’s just something that grew on me and I accepted it,” said Nicholson, the Mirror’s Citizen of the Month for May 2016. “What can I say? It doesn’t affect my ability to help.”

And help he does.

Nicholson started volunteering at Christ the King Bible Fellowship church 15 years ago. There, he “got to talking” with homeless people and “it went on from there.”

“If they need something, they come to me,” he said, adding that he knows where to find clothing, toiletries, tents, sleeping bags, propane stoves – the “basic stuff.”

“Give me 24 hours.”

Nicholson, who lives in one of the homeless encampments in Federal Way, said he listens to homeless people’s problems, which has nurtured a mutual trust between him and the community he’s a part of.

“He is the go-to person with credibility with the homeless population,” said Nancy Jaenicke, who nominated Nicholson for Citizen of the Month. “He’s been able to get some of them off drugs, back in homes, and connected to services. That front-line, credible contact is so vital. He’s the spokesman for the homeless.”

Nicholson said he was nominated by the homeless to be that spokesman through a vote.

“They said I had a good head on my shoulders,” said Nicholson, who’s lived in Federal Way since 1965.

Before Nicholson was homeless, he worked for the Port of Seattle and was his mother’s caregiver after his father died. Although his mother has also died, he believes the experience he had caring for her is where he honed his compassion for others.

“They’re human beings too, and they’re quite friendly,” Nicholson said of the people he helps. “The thing about it is, the people who work, the majority of them, have a wrong sense of idea about them. They’re willing to work and everything – they can do yard work, mow the grass – it could literally stop panhandling and that situation.”

Nicholson says people should introduce themselves and acknowledge their fellow Federal Way citizens, as many have lived in the city for years. One of the biggest struggles to finding a job for homeless people is references and the question, “What have you done for the last three years?”

“That can be hard,” he said. “They’re not all bad people. I’ve learned that from experience.”

Nicholson said he’s found real talent among his peers.

“Some of them could be accountants; some of them could be artists and stuff like that,” he said. “Pretty much so, but the thing about it is they don’t like to work for other people or they want to be independent. They just don’t see it the way other people see it, but they’ve gotten so used to their lifestyle and everything that it’s hard for them to change.”

Nicholson is there to help when others seek that change.

“Mainly, my focus right now is on the younger kids who are out on the streets – to make sure they don’t get hooked up with the other people who are doing harsh drugs,” he said.

Nicholson knows that in order to qualify for free bus tickets or EBT and SNAP benefits for food , an ID is required. He’ll help pay for that.

Jaenicke said Nicholson serves on the advisory committee for the Federal Way Day Center and has relayed City Council information to the homeless community as it pertains to them.

“The city, right now they’re upset with the camps, with the clothing and how they’re trashed,” he said. “Well, the reason for the clothing on the camps is they’re dirty. They have no place to wash them so they throw the clothes down and buy new ones.”

Nicholson said that’s why many of the camps are trashed, but now the homeless are willing to clean up. This was demonstrated by his most recent request for plastic bags.

Jaenicke said Nicholson initiated the cleanup but motivated another member to take a key role in leading that effort.

“He just makes things happen on behalf of the homeless community and understands their needs,” Jaenicke said.

To nominate a Citizen of the Month, email your name, contact information and why you believe the Mirror should choose your nomination to editor@fedwaymirror.com.