Rescuing flowers, man stems new purpose for them at Tennessee nursing homes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A local man's lived through some hard days and now he says, it's time to pay it forward. We think you'll agree he's certainly found a beautiful way to do so.

There are a lot of busy mornings for Trevor Phillips.

"This is Old School Farm," Trevor said between walking flowers from a cooler out to his car. "We've just been loading up for the delivery today. That's the way it's been for the last few years. It's usually me picking up the flowers, dropping them off here and picking them up on Saturdays."

To understand where Trevor's headed, you have need to know his journey to today.

"Spent most of my life without a home and living on the streets," he said. "I used to travel with my guitar and my backpack. For me, it was just the rain or the heat."

Trevor said he was handling longtime problems of low self-esteem in harmful ways.

"I turned to drugs and alcohol," he said "I struggled my whole life, y'know?"

Trevor said his life changed when he found a building that used to be The Little Pantry That Could. This homeless outreach center is no longer open, but in the time he lived on the property, he found a shelter he'd long been without.

"A lady named Stacy Downey who ran The Little Pantry That Could, welcomed me into her life and helped me see there was a different way to live," Trevor said. "I had a place to go."

Having felt this kindness, Trevor thought it was time to pay it forward. One day, he was making one of his deliveries to Bethany Center for Rehabilitation and Healing.

Tracy Sharp of the Flowers of Nashville wholesaler is among the people donating to his effort.

"We think what he's doing is wonderful," Tracy said.

"We're rescuing flowers that wholesale florists throw into their dumpster," said Trevor. "We're taking them to nursing homes and distributing them to the people."

Now with a team of volunteers, Trevor calls the effort Flower The People.

"We try to get them to every single person and hopefully some of the staff," one volunteer said, filling cups with an arrangement of flowers.

"Taking a couple petals off makes it look good, and I love how saturated these are," said another volunteer, working with some roses. "Ah. I love it. It's how I spend my Saturdays."

"I feel great," said Trevor. "I feel the most myself and the most connected with what's important. It's the most beautiful gift I've ever been given."

"So beautiful. Thank you," a resident said, receiving an arrangement of flowers. "They must love the people."

"They take their time to do this," added another resident. "They don't get paid to do this, to bring us joy. God got a good blessing for 'em."

"It's a very real and authentic experience," said Trevor. "The most gratifying thing I've done."

If you'd like to donate flowers to Trevor's organization Flower the People, visit here.