WASHINGTON — As tributes poured in on social media for our beloved Bruce Johnson, one woman’s story stood out. Velma Wiggins is a D.C. native and posted on Facebook how one encounter with Johnson, 44 years ago, changed the course of her family’s life.
The year was 1978 -- two years after Johnson arrived to WUSA9 -- and the young reporter was already making a name for himself in D.C. That’s when he met Wiggins, a young mother of three staying at the Days Inn on New York Avenue. Wiggins, her children, aunt and grandmother were all experiencing homelessness.
WUSA9 had the chance to talk with Wiggins at her home Wednesday to better understand the impact that meeting had on her entire family.
“He was ready to go for it and help me to find a place,” she said. "He wasn’t there to do a story, he was there to help and when he came in, he was this amazing, debonair, compassionate man. Talking to him you could see the compassion in his eyes, you could see the amazement in his eyes, of the story that was being told to him. He was a real person.”
So real, in fact, Wiggins said when her then 6-month-old baby started to fuss, Bruce didn’t waste time before he began comforting the little girl.
“He played with her and gently rocked her, and she gently fell asleep in his arms and I was so amazed,” Wiggins said. “I was like ‘this man got it!' He really, really, got it!"
What Johnson had for certain was the IT factor -- insight and compassion. He understood the assignment, as the kids say. It was never just a story or just an interview, but an opportunity to serve and fulfill his purpose.
“After he left, possibilities started opening up,” Wiggins said of her meeting with Johnson. “I got a call from the housing manager and she said 'we have an apartment for you.' I began to cry again. I was so happy there was room for myself, my children, my grandma and my auntie!”
Wiggins lived in that apartment for the next two decades and the blessings have overflowed as she added five more children and now 23 grandchildren to the family. Just two years ago, Wiggins finally got her high school diploma.
“I said my God if he could only have been in the audience, he would have been cheering me on,” she said with a smile.
Wiggins always made sure her family knew who Johnson was, and the role he had played in their family. During a facetime call Wednesday, Wiggins' daughter, Tameka, said that years ago she posted a comment on Johnson’s Facebook page and thanked him for being instrumental in helping her family.
“He made this world a whole lot better when he was here and I’m going to forever, forever be grateful to this amazing man,” Wiggins said. "When he came down with cancer and told his story about his cancer my daily prayer for him was, ‘Lord please see him through this and bring him out OK.'"
Wiggins said that one meeting changed the course of her family’s future and for that she will be eternally grateful.
“His wife, my heart goes out to her,” Wiggins said. “She didn’t have a gem for a husband -- she had a diamond! Like the Bible said he fought a good fight, he kept the faith and he’s going to get that crown in glory ... He really deserves that crown.”