Politics | Barack Obama Obama Visits Troops, Pitches In at Homeless Shelter By Kevin Spak Posted Jan 19, 2009 10:53 AM CST Copied President elect Barack Obama paints a wall during a visit to Sasha Bruce House, a shelter for teens, in Washington , Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Barack Obama pitched in at a Washington emergency homeless shelter for teens today, as part of his pitch for greater public service, the AP reports. After touring the facility alongside Martin Luther King III, Obama rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and helped paint a wall in the center blue. Earlier today he made an unscheduled stop at Walter Reed to visit wounded troops. As large crowds thronged the capital today, Obama called on Americans to help out in their communities, in honor of Martin Luther King, who led “a life lived in loving service to others,” Obama said in a statement. “Tomorrow we will come together as one people on the same mall where Dr King’s dream echoes still.” Read These Next Trump is calling out the 'arm of the Democratic party.' Man murdered in Mississippi is a US-touring comedian. You know you're good when you get a high-five from your heckler. Trump thinks "Department of War" sounds better. Report an error