In this day and age, it’s heartbreaking that homelessness and poverty are still an issue, even in first-world countries like the US.
The problem is, many of us just don’t know the best way to help.
Unfortunately, a lot of homeless people get mixed up with drugs, so if you’re giving money to someone on the streets, you can’t be sure that it’s going to be put towards something that’s good for them.
Donating to a homeless charity or buying someone food and drink is the best way to know that your money is genuinely going to help someone.
But what if that person is just looking for a job?
A man from West Seneca, New York, is proof that we shouldn’t put all homeless people under the same label. Known only as “Kevin,” the man was well known for standing on a street corner with a sign explaining his circumstances.
Kevin explained that he was drug and alcohol-free, and was simply looking for a job now that he was ex-military.
One local named Jessie Dixon had got to know Kevin over time, and he soon learned that he was a great guy who had fallen into some unfortunate circumstances.
“He’s just a nice guy,” Dixon told WKBW-TV. “It seemed like he, you know, hit a patch of, you know, patch of bad luck, so we were just trying to help him through it.”
Jessie and the other locals soon became used to seeing Kevin standing on the street corner with his sign.
“If I didn’t see him for two or three days at a time, it was unusual. Like I said, I usually … usually saw him at least a couple times a week.”
This week, however, Kevin was absent from his usual spot. In his place, a handwritten message had been left on a brand new sign.
“Thank you everyone who has helped. I start working Monday.”
After all his time on the streets, someone had finally been able to help Kevin.
“I was really glad to hear that he — he’s found some work,” Dixon said.
Megan Bingham, co-chair of the annual local Project Homeless Connect even, told The Western Journal how much Kevin’s story meant to everyone in her line of work.
“Here’s a man who is so grateful to have found a job that he left a sign for anyone who’s helped him over the last, you know, however many months,” she said. “I mean, that gives me goosebumps.”
Where Kevin has gone now is all speculation, with a nearby gas station employee saying that he has been employed by a landscaping company.
It’s so lovely that Kevin took the time to thank everyone for their help.
People took to the comments on WKBW’s Facebook page to share their own encounters of Kevin- and it just goes to show what a nice man he really is.
“Our family has helped him out on many occasions,” one person commented. “He was always so grateful for anything we gave him. Congratulations.”
“So very happy!” another added. “I have stopped on a few occasions and given him food and gift cards. He is such a remarkable kind man. So glad to hear this news.”
It seems like Kevin was fully deserving of his happy ending! Watch his story below:
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
