Homeless man returns found $10K cheque - and gets big surprise

Homeless man returns found $10K cheque - and gets big surprise
By NBC News

Now that's good karma

A homeless man who returned a $10,000 cheque to a US business owner got a life-changing surprise in return.

It all started with something real estate agent Roberta Hoskie had lost on the streets of New Haven – a cheque for more than $10,000 (around 8,400 euros).

Elmer Alvarez found the cheque. His first thought?

“Do the right thing. Just look for the person and just return the cheque,” he said.

After Roberta got the cheque back and learned Alvarez was homeless, she took to Facebook to thank him in a video that got thousands of views

The two strangers had something in common. Roberta had also once been homeless – a teenage mother and a high school dropout.

“$417 a month – I’ll never forget it, it’s all I had to take care of myself and my son,” she told NBC News.

But someone helped her turn her life around.

On Thanksgiving week, Roberta surprised Elmer, getting him job training, career counseling and a job interview.

Her last gift to Alvarez moved him to tears.

“This winter you don’t have to worry about being in cold,” Hoskie said. “We have housing for you.”

Hoskie said once Alvarez gets on his feet, she wants him to pay it forward and help others.

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