HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (WAFF) – There was plenty of love to spread when Michelle Shaw and a group of her childhood friends decided to help the elderly residents of Gateway Place Apartments through a difficult time.

More than 80 of them were left homeless when a water main burst.

Shaw said the housing authority paid for their accommodation in hotels and overall they have done a good job in resolving the issue.

However, she knows that these residents need additional support.

“It’s just about showing compassion, because we see that less and less every day. So I think when we come together and show compassion, it’s contagious,” Shaw said.

She made sure that hot meals were prepared for each resident for lunch and dinner.

She said many are on fixed incomes, need medication or are unable to cook for themselves in a hotel room.

She even described an elderly couple who were blind but still able to go out and eat.

“It was very rewarding,” she continued. “They couldn’t see what they were going to eat, but the gentleman took his bag, put it to his nose and said, ‘I can’t wait to eat this.'”

Lucy Walton is one of the displaced residents and has known Shaw for years.

She said some of her fellow tenants had lost almost everything when the pipe burst, but the meals they received had helped lift their spirits.

“They were glad, they were happy. And they said ‘oh, it tastes so good, Lucy’. And I said ‘well, I didn’t cook it, you know?’ and we just laughed,” she said. “And they were happy to get it, because you have to take what little you have and go out and try to get something to eat.”

Shaw said it’s not about the fame for her, just about being able to do the right thing.

Meanwhile, Walton also said they had been told they could return to their homes as early as Friday.

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