A woman who once lived out of her car went viral after tweeting about the kindness she found at the library in Galloway Township.
Kendra F was inspired to share her story after California librarian Mychal Threets shared his “library joy” after making the cover of the latest edition of the School Library Journal.
“Talking about reasons to love libraries,” Threets says in the video posted on X.
Kendra retweeted the video with her own story of library love.
“When I lived in my car I parked in the lot of the local library all day and was never bothered,” she wrote.
She talked about how she was able to sign up for food stamps and other programs using the library’s computers and was even allowed to use the bathroom or just rest inside without being made to feel less.
“Libraries are a safe space for so many people,” she wrote. “They were my lifeline.”
Later in the thread she gives a shout out to that local library: the Galloway Township Branch of the Atlantic County Library System.
They even allowed her to cut some flowers each day to decorate the inside of her car parked in the library’s lot.
The library also gave her a temporary card, since she had no address to attach to one.
That the library is next to the Galloway Township Police Department also made her feel safe, Kendra said.
“I think they knew I was the local homeless girl just trying to make it by so they never questioned it or told me not to cuz I was literally the only one and I never caused any problems,” she wrote.
Her story had more than 15 million views.
It also inspired others to share their experiences with libraries.
“The library for me was definitely a protection space,” user @MilliDeen wrote in response to Kendra. “I was never questioned or forbidden from going to the library. It also helped me develop as a young woman at the time. I would use the time to research life skills.”
"That's where I went as a child to try to escape from the abuse at home as a kid," another user wrote.
“God bless local libraries,” Kendra wrote.
When I lived in my car I parked in the lot of the local library all day and was never bothered, I used their bathroom throughout the day and they never asked any questions, I used the computers to sign up for food stamps and other programs, I picked the flowers around the lot and… https://t.co/kNTJrzKC2e
— Kendra F (@SurvivingCFS) July 3, 2024
