Mirza Hussain, who goes by Faris, has worked at the Evans Food Mart for five years. In that time, he’s learned a lot about the area.
The 29-year-old now knows each of the frequent visitors, some of them who are among the homeless population who live near the store that’s tucked in the Evans corridor in south Fort Worth.
As Winter Storm Fern covered the ground in sleet and snow Jan. 24, Hussain was working his normal shift at Evans Food Mart when one of his regulars, Chris, came in worried about a homeless woman outside across the street in the subfreezing temperatures. It was Bobbi, another customer of Hussain’s.
“Regardless of whether it was my regular customer or not, I was still gonna go and help whoever it was, but the fact that it was a regular kind of got to me instantly, and I’m like, ‘No, we need to go hurry up and help her.’”
She had been out in the cold without the clothing needed to withstand the frigid air and ice, Hussain said. As she shivered, he picked her up, walked her across the street into the store, and called emergency services.
Welcome to 52 Faces
52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
“I picked her up in my hands and just said, ‘Bobbi, don’t even worry about it,’” he recalled.
Hussain’s compassionate nature in that moment was indicative of his character, those close to him say.
His volunteer work and care for the homeless community in Fort Worth over the past five years earned him recognition in 52 Faces of the Community, the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series spotlighting unsung heroes in Tarrant County.
While many of his regulars may have less than he has, Hussain said he treats each of them like a member of his family.
“I love all these customers over here because even though they don’t have much, they still have their personality, their feelings and everything,” Hussain said.
Hussain moved to Tarrant County in 2021 after spending five years in Irving. He said he made the move to work at the food mart following some convincing from the store’s owner, Mohammed Hantouli.
It was around that time that he began volunteering in the community.
“He’s naturally a nice person. This is what was caught on camera, but he’s done a lot more than what he did this time,”
Mohammed Hamtouli, the store owner who nominated Hussain for recognition.
Hussain is a member of the Panache Youth Society, a Dallas-Fort Worth-based nonprofit focused on helping the less fortunate.
The core tenets of the group are involve, inspire and impact, Hussain said.
“We try to do as much as we can for our community, and that kind of became my inspiration to really help out the community as much as I can,” he said.
The largest event the organization hosts is “Clothes for Souls.” Year-round, members gather donations to give to the homeless on Thanksgiving.
That one heroic act was not an outlier, Hantouli said.
“What he did, to be honest, did not surprise me because he’s been doing it,” Hantouli said. “He’s naturally a nice person. This is what was caught on camera, but he’s done a lot more than what he did this time.”
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Seeing his employee receive support from the community for the incident during the storm has been a joy.
“He doesn’t judge people based on color, the way they look or by their financials,” Hantouli said. “He’s a great guy, and I am very happy and proud to have him in my life.”
On Jan. 30, Hussain was happy to update that Bobbi is now in much better shape, though she has lingering pain from a prior car accident.
For Hussain, the ensuing support since helping her has been nice, but that’s not why he does it.
“It all comes down to us as humans have to come together and help each other in a time of need,” Hussain said.
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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