A homeless man found a check for $10,000 lying on the streets of New Haven (Connecticut) and returned it to its owner; in return he received a generous reward that turned his life around. Elmer ALvarez’s story has gone viral on social media.
Homeless man returns $10,000 check to owner, receives generous reward
The realtor, Roberta Hoskie, accidentally threw the check away and Elmer Alvarez, a homeless man found it and returned it to her in full. “What I did, finding the check and returning it, I think I would do it again,” he told NBC Connecticut.
When Elmer contacted Roberta to return the check, she hadn’t realized she had misplaced it. Hoskie was grateful to Alvarez, about whom she had no idea of his condition.
When she learned that he was living on the street and unemployed, she decided to help him.
She used her Facebook account to record a public thank you video.
The two met at the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, where she thanked him for his honesty and offered to help him get on his feet. Hoskie said she was once homeless herself and knew firsthand how difficult it was to live in those conditions.
Honesty pays off
She gave Alvarez a scholarship to attend real estate school and offered him career counseling and job interviews. As if that weren’t enough, she taught him English: In this package, she included full training services for him to learn English as a second language.
“This winter you won’t have to worry about getting cold,” Hoskie told her. “We’ve found a home for you.”
The broker indicated that she is doing all this for him on one condition; once he recovers, she wants him to pay it forward by helping others.
