Najee Harris on coming to grips growing up homeless, using platform

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris has made an impact in his community as he uses his platform to help the homeless shelter he lived in growing up, as detailed by ESPN’s Brooke Pryor Harris recently opened up about his struggle with learning how his voice could help others, as well as how he continues to look for ways to improve his community.

Najee Harris’ work with former homeless shelter

Before Harris became the young star for the Steelers and his college career at Alabama, his family struggled with homelessness. The last shelter they would stay in was the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program [GRIP] in California. Harris, his mother and his four siblings all faced multiple evictions growing up and at one point were forced to live in a van at Golden Gate Park.

The struggle was not something Harris ever thought he would want to talk about or have brought up. A close friend of Harris’ as he was growing up was Marcus Malu. Malu was his trainer and ran a gym in the area where Harris attended high school.

Harris overheard kids during his sophomore year of high school talking about him and his history of living in homeless shelters. When he pressed them for how they found out it was revealed that Malu had shared his story to motivate students at a strength and conditioning banquet.

His friend and trainer told him that “sooner or later, you’re going to have to tell your story. It’s part of who you are.”

“I was mad as hell at him, but I didn’t understand it,” Harris told Pryor of when he found out. “I didn’t understand my story, I guess, like that. I guess they call it a testimony. I didn’t understand how it would help other people. I didn’t get the bigger picture at that time. I thank him for that, though. He helped me out with opening up.”

Harris quickly got over his anger with Malu, and now is starting to understand how to impact change with his story and platform. Harris named his newly formed nonprofit organization Da’ Bigger Picture Foundation, after realizing little things can add up to make a difference.

“If all of us help each other out somehow, then we all can just try to make a change into something,” Harris said. “It took me all these years to really figure that out, so I wanted to help somebody else, because people think that success or whatever you want, prosperity, anything, just happens like that.

“It’s not really that simple. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture.”

Harris’ roots to his community were evident on the biggest night of his life, as he opted to host a watch party for the 2021 NFL Draft at the GRIP shelter he once lived in. Harris hosted the party for all residents at the shelter and provided food and a special moment for everyone there.