Birds of a feather: How a wayward duck changed a Kansas City homeless man's life

When Dave Hughes lost his job and his place to live, he found a measure of refuge living under a bridge on Brush Creek in the middle of Kansas City. Then an ostracized duck gave him a new lease on life.
David Hughes found himself depressed and homeless early in the pandemic. He was robbed twice on the street. He says he was threatened by people who were on meth and confronted by others using heroin. He was afraid he would relapse, or get seriously injured.

Finally, he made his way to a camp under a bridge crossing Brush Creek where several men live in a loosely structured community with rules governing drinking and drugs. It’s relatively out of the way, and Hughes says police don’t seem to mind a few people living there.

But Hughes was far from content.