No good deed goes unrewarded. Usually, when we give back and don’t expect a reward of any kind, in some way, we are more than rewarded for our effort. Such is the story of Emer Alvarez.
Alvarez lived on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut. One day he found a large sum of money, almost $10,000. He sought out the owner and returned it to the owner. The act pulled the heartstrings of Roberta Hoskie, a local real estate agent. Elmer could have kept the money. It would have solved many problems, but he went to look for Roberta Hoskie, who had lost the check at a busy intersection. She hadn’t realized it had disappeared until the next day. When Elmer met Roberta, he could not speak English and brought a friend to help communicate. It was then she realized that Elmer didn’t have a place to live and was homeless. Roberta filmed the event and commented that there were many false believes about homeless people. She had once been homeless herself. Once people are homeless, it becomes difficult for them to get back into normal life. They are ostracised, can’t find jobs, have no phone, etc.
For people like Elmer, it can be hard to work temporary jobs and move from place to place. The same is true for women who live in homeless situations, and for them in particular, domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness. In this case, Roberta decided to help Elmer. She sent him to real estate school, offered him a job, and paid his rent for 7 months.
Roberta had been a high school dropout and lived in poverty herself while trying to raise her son. She wanted to help.
He passed his exam and is now a successful real estate agent. Much like Roberta had done years ago, Elmer was about to start work as a real estate agent. Elmer passed his exam, and now together they started the Outreach Foundation, an organization offering homes for young people. Today, Elmer hopes to give other people who are in a similar situation the opportunity to have a better life. By communicating with churches, local community centers, and shelters, Elmer and Roberta find teens or young people who have landed on the streets, offer them transitional housing and help meet immediate needs so they can get the skills they need to go to work.
