Homeless man returned $10K check he found on street — grateful owner stunned him with a life-changing gift
Sometimes, doing the right thing leads to a positive outcome in the long run. A former homeless man could safely say that's true after his life changed due to a good deed. The man, Elmer Alvarez, found a $10,000 check on the road and immediately knew that he had to find the rightful owner. His search led him to a real estate broker, Roberta Hoskie, who decided to give him a special gift for returning her check, as reported by CBS News. It helped the man find a purpose in life.
Alvarez felt that he could show good character when he found the check and expressed that he did not think of getting it cashed, not even once. "It never crossed my mind because I made a decision to turn my life over. I've been clean for three years." He saw the check and thought, "I've got to look for this person." The check belonged to Roberta Hoskie, a real estate broker from New Haven, Connecticut, who owns Outreach Realty Services. Alvarez searched on Google with the help of a friend and found Hoskie's business to return the check that fateful day when his life changed, per WRAL News. "I expected to find a guy all nice, clean-shaven and blue suit like you," Hoskie told CBS News. But Alvarez turned up at her doorstep instead. "It shattered the stereotypes." He was in tears when she offered him a reward for his good deed.
Hoskie went to the corner of Church and Chapel Streets after that to meet the man and talk to him, per WRAL news. They gave each other a brief hug that day and she told him that she was going to write him a check as a reward, as he cried. She also told him that she had been homeless at several points as a teenager and struggled a lot for years that day, and the man was surprised to hear that. Because of a suggestion on her Facebook page, Hoskie invited him to attend the real estate school free of charge, and it drastically changed things for both of them a year later.
A year into the incident, Hoskie had helped Alvarez find a place to live and paid his rent for seven months until he could do something for himself, according to CBS News. She also helped him get through real estate school, and they started working on a small real estate project together. The project wouldn't pay anything, but it could mean a lot to both of them. They were planning to build a transitional house for homeless teenagers and young adults that would provide all the necessary services to them.
"I know what it is to be homeless. Nobody deserves to live like that," Alvarez pointed out. Hoskie agreed with the statement. "Because I remember. I remember what it felt like to be in that shelter." The woman was a teenage mom and had to work her way out of poverty. So, she wanted to help Alvarez have a good life as well. He would eventually serve as an adviser at the transitional house.