Police Officer Shares Meal With Homeless Man: Story Goes Viral

In times when the stories we read often are very sad and disheartening, TiAnne Greene witnessed an act of kindness that she wanted to share. But she didn’t think that the picture and story she captured would go viral. She was taking daughter to summer camp, and she wanted her 7-year-old to see that an act of compassion comes from many sources: including the police. The act she saw was Sergeant Erica Hay who had purchased a meal for a homeless man. The officer then sat on the curb and ate with the man, talking with him to learn the tale of his life. Greene stated the following, according to METRO.

“What really caught my attention was the fact she then pulled out food for herself and started to eat with him. She just seemed very, very comfortable….I got my phone out and started snapping pictures because I was so overjoyed by the interaction.”

The Sergeant works for the Ocala police department in Florida. Greene stated that Hay’s kind action brightened her outlook for days. Hay was going to get her own breakfast at a local donut shop, when she decided to buy one for the unknown gentleman. Hay stated the following about her close-knit community in which she knows many people, but not the man she helped, according to Today News.

“We’re not a large community so I know most everybody, especially the homeless in the area, but I didn’t know him…. He was just there by himself alone, so I just grabbed food and went back to eat with him. Nobody wants to eat alone. I like eating with anybody….Isolation is the worst part about being someone who is homeless. They’re isolated from everyone, and I think any type of interaction is a positive thing. He was great. He was nice to talk to. He’s got a story, just like everyone else. It just happens to be a sad story.”

Hay is glad that Greene took time to show the good work that police do. The 20-year-police veteran was very touched by Greene’s gesture of posting the pictures of her with the man, who also seems to have appreciated the kindness of a stranger taking time to be with him.

Thankfully, there are many happy human-interest stories that demonstrate man’s humanity. John Cruz is a homeless man in the beachside neighborhood of Kailua, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. He doesn’t ask for anything and instead helps others. He often helped others. When he needed medical help, the community banded together and helped him obtain the required attention, according to an article in the Inquisitr.

[Photo Courtesy Facebook]