Homeless people have many of the same worries as people who have homes, but they do not have the same level of security. As a result, if they fall ill suddenly, they typically have no way to stop someone from stealing their property.
When Douglas Dean Hall, a homeless United States Marine Corps veteran, collapsed in a street in Hollywood, California, he could have become a victim of property theft if not for the help of a bystander.
Dana Lee Calabrese was on her way to dinner with friends when she saw Hall collapse and decided to stay with him until paramedics arrived.
She then asked what the paramedics would do with Hall’s belongings and discovered that absolutely no one cared about the fact that a trip to the hospital could result in the theft of all of the few possessions that Hall kept in a shopping cart.
Calabrese understood that the first responders had a job to do that was very hard, but she had difficulty accepting that they would not take Hall’s belongings with them and took the cart with her to her own home to keep it safe.
Calabrese then posted Hall’s picture to Facebook and asked for help in locating him. Her neighbor found Hall a little while later on the street.
After returning his belongings, Calabrese then went a step further. She raised several thousand dollars on GoFundMe so that Hall could get a train ticket to take him to family in New York City.
