For the past three years, Tim Felix has spent most mornings walking from his Old East Dallas apartment to the J.W. Ray Park down the street, trash bag and picker in hand, so he can clean up litter and make it a safe place for neighborhood kids to play.
Felix used to go to the park just to listen to gospel music and walk his dog, but during a visit in 2015, he noticed how much trash was hidden in the grass, he told The Dallas Morning News. He started coming every day — except Sundays, when he goes to church — so he can pick up cans, junk mail, and plastic bags.
Felix, 30, has a mental disability, and while sometimes he's teased by people who can't understand him, others thank him for the hard work he does. He likes to get to the park early before children do, because he's found some dangerous things, including drugs and, one time, a gun. "See what I'm talking about?" he said after finding a baggie of what appeared to be marijuana. "Thank God I'm here."