In an amazing turn of events, a houseless man in Tampa, Florida is now able to change his situation.

John Helinski, a 62-year-old living on the streets of Tampa, recently rediscovered a forgetting bank account of his. In this account is more money than he could have imagined, and it totally changes his life’s situation.

With this newfound money, he can afford to buy a house.

This bank account had been receiving disability benefits for many years. John was not aware of this and actually thought his benefits had expired. Although John is currently living in a community housing center, he will soon move into his own house.

Two important people helped his case a lot.

First, Police Officer Daniel McDonald became involved in John’s life after a routine visit to the community housing that John was living in. Daniel is a homeless liaison officer, meaning that his work focuses on helping unhoused people with their situation.

The other person who helped a lot was Charles Inman, who was John’s case worker. He works for Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Coordinating Office Inc., so he was very aware of John’s situation and knew what needed to be done to help him.

First, he needed temporary I.D., to make up for the I.D. that had been stolen.

John’s I.D. had been stolen while he was living on the streets. So before Charles and Daniel could begin to sort through John’s paperwork, they needed to get him a new, temporary I.D. Daniel personally helped with this. He drove John to the tax collector’s office, so John could get a new I.D.

John didn’t think he was still receiving benefits, but Daniel believed otherwise.

During this drive, John mentioned that he used to receive disability benefits, but wasn’t sure he did anymore. So Daniel took it upon himself to see if John had some hidden money.

Because of Daniel’s willingness to ask around and see what came of it, everyone discovered that John actually had been unknowingly receiving benefits for years. All these discoveries stemmed from the moment he got his temporary I.D. With that paperwork, Daniel and Charles were able to uncover so much information about him and his bank accounts.

After years of houselessness, John is now going to move into a new home.

Thanks to the benefits that accrued in his bank account, John will soon be able to move into a stable housing situation. The money will be enough to cover rent and food, and he might not even have to work.

John’s case manager and Daniel are both overjoyed.

Charles, John’s case manager, explains where his dedication to John’s cause came from:

“This situation looked really difficult, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to end up…If it failed, it meant we’d put a 62-year-old man on the street, and Officer McDonald and I were not OK with that.”

Thanks to some hardworking and caring folks, John was able to turn his life around! It’s touching how much community support can help anyone.

To hear more from John, check out the interview below!

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Source: ABC Action News, Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Coordinating Offices, Maui News