Member-only story
Hope from the Homeless: A Story of Survival and Second Chances
How a Homeless Stranger’s Courage Revived a Lost Soul
Jim (not his real name) lost thousands of dollars to fraud. He became frustrated and discouraged. He feared and felt he had no strength to start again because he was in his fifties. Jim decided to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge into the deep.
As he was about to jump, a homeless man called Dave (not his real name) in tattered clothes was walking nearby, saw and grabbed him, preventing him from jumping down. Jim tried to drag himself from Dave by shouting let me go! Dave responded, “I will let you go, but wait and let me show you something.”
After Jim calmed down, Dave said let me have your money, phone and every valuable you have with you. Jim looked curious and asked, “Why would I do that?” He answered and said, “I want to show you something.”
He then delivered everything to him, including his top and trousers. In response, Dave said, “Thank you. All these would be wasted in the water, and if you’re lucky, they would be taken by people you do not know after you jumped and died. But now you should be happy to die because, with the money and the valuables, you have just helped a homeless man to secure food, clothing and shelter for some months.”
