A Homeless Child Told Patrick Mahomes: ‘I Haven’t Eaten in Two Days’ – His Reaction Moved the World

What happened next touched millions around the world. In the middle of a normal day, an unexpected encounter between an NFL superstar and a child living on the streets turned into a moment of deep compassion and humanity.

It was a cold morning in Oakland, California, when Jason and his mother Diane spent another night in their old 2003 Honda Civic. The typical fog of San Francisco Bay covered the windows of the car, discreetly parked at the back of a 24-hour supermarket. This had become their third different place to sleep that week.

At 11 years old, Jason already knew the routine: wake up before dawn, fold the worn blanket they shared, use the establishment’s bathroom to wash as best as they could, and store their few belongings in the trunk before the employees arrived. “Jason, honey, I need to go to that employment agency again today,” Diane whispered, fixing her hair in the small rearview mirror. Her hands, once delicate when she worked as a nursing technician, now showed the signs of months living on the streets. “Will you be okay alone?”

“We’ll be fine, Mom,” Jason replied, wearing his Golden State Warriors T-shirt—the only link to the life he once had before everything fell apart. The shirt was a birthday present before they lost everything. The only thing troubling him now was hunger. His stomach hurt—not in an acute way, but with a deep, constant pain of someone who hasn’t eaten a complete meal in days. The peanut butter sandwich they shared the day before yesterday had been the last substantial meal they had. Since then, it was just crackers and water.

Diane kissed her son’s forehead before leaving, “I’ll be back before noon. Stay close to here.” Jason nodded and watched her walk away. He knew she cried every night, blaming herself for their situation.

To distract himself from hunger, Jason walked around the area, his steps leading him almost unconsciously toward the Chase Center, where the Warriors trained. It was pure coincidence—or destiny, as Jason would later think—that at that exact moment, Patrick Mahomes was leaving through a side door after an early morning individual training session.

Jason froze. There, in front of him, was his greatest idol—the man whose poster decorated his room before everything had fallen apart. Something inside him, maybe desperation, maybe hunger, gave him the courage to approach. With trembling legs, he walked up to Mahomes, who was alone, checking messages on his phone while walking to his car.

“Mr. Mahomes,” Jason stuttered.

Patrick Mahomes looked up and observed the thin boy wearing a Warriors shirt too big for his body. “Hey, kid,” Mahomes replied with a gentle smile.

Jason swallowed hard, his throat locking with shame. But the pain in his stomach spoke louder than his pride. “Sorry to bother you,” he whispered, “But I haven’t eaten in two days.”

The smile on Mahomes’ face instantly faded. Concern took over his expression. He quickly put his phone away and looked around, making sure they were alone in the parking lot. No photographers, no fans with smartphones lurking—just him and a hungry boy in a faded Warriors T-shirt.

“What’s your name, friend?” Mahomes asked, lowering himself to Jason’s eye level.

“Jason,” the boy replied, barely containing the tremor in his voice.

“Jason, I’m Patrick,” he said, as though the boy didn’t already know. “Where’s your family? Your parents?”

“My mom’s looking for work at an agency nearby,” Jason replied.

Mahomes didn’t hesitate. “Let’s find her, and then let’s get something to eat. How does that sound?”

Jason nodded, though his eyes revealed a flicker of distrust—a natural reaction after months of living on the streets of Oakland. They walked three blocks to the employment agency with Mahomes keeping a low profile, pulling his cap down.

When Diane saw her son entering the agency with Mahomes, her face transformed—confusion, recognition, alarm, and finally, a mixture of gratitude and shame. Mahomes extended his hand, “Mrs. Miller, nice to meet you. I just met your young fan. I hope you don’t mind, but I promised him lunch.”

In a small family restaurant two blocks away, after Jason devoured a hamburger with hunger-driven veracity, Diane shared their story: how the pneumonia had cost her job as a nursing technician, how the medical bills had drained their savings, and how they were evicted. “I’ve been applying for everything, but without a fixed address…” Diane trailed off, her gaze saying everything that words could not.

“How long have you been in this situation?” Mahomes asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Three months,” Jason replied, before his mother could speak.

Mahomes nodded thoughtfully. He excused himself and stepped away to make some calls. Jason watched as the football star spoke on the phone, his face alternating between seriousness and occasional smiles. When he returned, Mahomes had a plan.

“I have some friends at the Eat Learn Play Foundation,” he said. “We’ll get a hotel for you to stay in for now. No conditions, no cameras, no publicity.”

Diane hesitated. “Mr. Mahomes, I appreciate it, but I can’t accept charity. I need to show Jason that we can do this ourselves.”

Mahomes smiled gently. “Don’t think of it as charity. Think of it as community supporting community. We all need help at some point.”

Diane’s eyes met his, and something in Mahomes’ sincerity made her reconsider. “Actually,” he added, “I work with programs that connect health professionals to local hospitals. I can make some introductions.”

Diane, overwhelmed, could only whisper, “Thank you.”

That night, for the first time in months, Jason and Diane slept in real beds in a modest but clean hotel room. While his mother took a long, hot shower, Jason sat on the edge of the bed, still trying to process how his day had changed so drastically. On the nightstand, Mahomes’ personal card lay with a cell phone number and a simple message: This is just the beginning. PM 15.

Three weeks passed like a dream. The hotel room eventually gave way to a small one-bedroom apartment in a subsidized housing complex in Oakland. Mahomes’ foundation had quietly moved the gears behind the scenes to ensure that help arrived without fanfare.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with your new uniform?” Diane asked, adjusting Jason’s shirt collar on his first day at his new school.

Jason nodded, still getting used to clothes that actually fit. “It’s strange not having to take three buses to get to school.”

For Diane, the transformation was equally surreal. After years of working as a nursing technician, she now participated in a professional reintegration program at Highland Hospital, updating her certifications and working part-time. Mahomes’ contact with the hospital administration had opened doors that Diane thought were permanently closed.

“I just wish I knew how to thank him properly,” she said one morning, as she prepared breakfast with food from their newly stocked pantry.

As if on cue, Diane’s phone rang. It was Mahomes, checking in to see how they were adjusting. These calls had become regular, brief, and always discreet. “I have tickets for Friday’s game,” Mahomes said on the phone. “I thought Jason might like to see the Warriors play against the Lakers.”

Jason could hardly sleep the night before the game. Sitting in the stands close to the court, he watched in awe as his idol hit three consecutive three-point shots. After the game, Mahomes discreetly waved to them from the sidelines.

What no one knew in the arena was that Jason wasn’t the only one. Several other families, recently off the streets, were scattered throughout the stadium, silent beneficiaries of Mahomes’ initiative. At school, Jason’s transformation was evident. The once withdrawn boy now raised his hand to answer questions, his grades improving as stability reflected in his academic performance.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Jason was invited to a special basketball clinic at the local community gym. When Mahomes appeared to give the training personally, smiles illuminated the room.

“This is just the beginning,” Mahomes told Diane while they watched the children practicing shots. “I’m working on something bigger.”

A few months later, Mahomes took the stage at a press conference to announce the Beyond the Court program, an initiative aimed at helping homeless families reintegrate into society. “It all started with an encounter that changed my life,” Mahomes said, as images of Jason and Diane were shown on the big screen.

Jason, once a shy boy ashamed of his situation, now spoke fluently on panels about housing insecurity. His story, like Mahomes’, inspired a movement. What started with a single, honest encounter had turned into a revolution of compassion, touching hundreds of families and changing lives forever.

Patrick Mahomes nearly quit football in high school, mother says

History may have looked very different if Mahomes’ mother hadn’t stepped in and stopped her son from quitting football

Patrick Mahomes’ mother Randi Mahomes opened up on a period during her son’s high school football career, when he almost quit the sport.

During an Instagram story Q&A on Friday, Randi Mahomes was asked how she kept her son motivated through “challenging times.”

The mother answered by saying she hadn’t had to do much, because the quarterback had been “so determined for himself,” but she also recounted a time when he almost quit football in high school.

“There were times when he would get a little down, even a moment in high school when he wanted to quit football. Yes, he did,” Randi Mahomes said. “And I encouraged him that sitting out a season of sports and watching the games, it was not going to be fun for him. And so, he stuck to it, fortunately.”

The intervention by Randi Mahomes may have very well changed the course of sports history, and history at large.

Mahomes went on to be a two-year starter at quarterback at Whitehorse High School in East Texas, where he also met his wife, Brittany Mahomes.

In his senior year, he passed for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns, while also rushing for 948 yards and 15 touchdowns. That performance earned him the MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year.

Mahomes went on to be a three-star college recruit, and committed to Texas Tech. There, he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as a junior after leading the FBS in passing yards and total touchdowns.

It was enough to convince the Kansas City Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid to execute a trade-up in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Mahomes to be the team’s starting quarterback.

Since then, all Mahomes has done is turn the Chiefs into a dynasty and win two NFL MVP awards.

And it may have never even happen if his mom hadn’t stopped him from quitting high school football.