Cop helps homeless man discover a part of him that has been missing for years. He has no name, no social security and no home for three years until a dedicated cop and case worker helped him tracked everything, and now the old man can even afford to buy his own home.
The story of the cop helps homeless man seems like a story in the old book, but this time it's real. John Helinski, 62, was homeless and depends only in a cardboard box to live.
For three years, he stayed near Tamba Bay bus stop, slept under benches so no one could see until concerned citizens walked out their way to help Helinski.
Helinski find it hard to apply that time at the homeless shelter due to lack of identifications.
Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Coordinating Office Inc. (DACCO) Case Manager Charles Inman told the Florida station, "He needed to have an identification, but we couldn't get an identification without a birth certificate."
We first had to figure out that we needed a consular record of foreign birth or something like that," said Tampa police Officer Dan McDonald, who volunteered to help Helinski. The 62-year-old man was born in Poland, but an American citizen that makes acquiring bureaucracy papers a little bit tedious.
It was not revealed how Helinski became homeless.
The cop helps homeless man first by securing a temporary State of Florida ID card at the local tax collector's office. Then from there Helinski was able to obtain his birth record from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affair, Yahoo reports.
It was not all through. After cop helps homeless man secure his Florida card and birth certificate, they went to the Social Security office and discovered that he was still receiving benefits.
The cop helps homeless man Helinkski secure a social security card and a driving license, according to CNN. After plowing more of Helinski's background, the old man remembered he has a bank account in Landmark Bank that now has been managed by Bank of America.
More has been revealed after the cop helps homeless man. They discovered that Helinski's account has been active for years and he has amassed his Social Security benefits for years enough for him to purchase his own house, the ABC Action News reports.
"I guess I'm exhilarated, excited, you know," Helinksi exclaimed.
After the case worker and the cop helps homeless man, he can now afford to buy his own place. According to Daily Mail, he is planning to have his own apartment soon although the old man is still staying at the DACCO Community Housing Solutions Center.
Helinksi didn't disclose how much money he has in his bank account although he stated that he has enough money to get a decent apartment and have good food without the need to find a job.
Helinski couldn't contain his happiness on how to thank a dedicated officer and case manager. He couldn't thank Tampa police Officer Dan McDonald, the cop who helped homeless man enough after what he has done to help him change his life.
