Living in a cardboard box on the streets of downtown Tampa, Florida, a 62-year-old man who has been homeless for three years will soon have a place to call “home”.
With his newly-discovered fortune, he will finally be able to afford a modest-sized apartment, and receive a pension check every month, without having to work a single day.
Helinski is extremely thankful for the help he received from Tampa Police Department officer Daniel McDonald and his case manager, Charles Inman of Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Coordinating Office (DACCO). For weeks, the duo had been helping Helinski locate documents for his personal identification so that they could get him into housing.
“As a homeless liaison officer, the bread and butter of my work often involves hopping department to department trying to help homeless people find the ID they need in order to get things like work and housing,” McDonald said.
Helinski initially thought his social security number and benefits were all cancelled, but after a trip with McDonald to the local tax collector’s office, US Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Social Security Office, they were both shocked and ecstatic to discover that Helinski had a small fortune waiting for him.
Both Irman and McDonald are extremely happy for their client.
“This situation looked really difficult, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to end up,” Inman said. “If it failed, it meant we’d put a 62-year-old man on the street, and officer McDonald and I were not OK with that.
Although Helinski is still living at the DACCO Community Housing Solutions Center, McDonald said that he would likely get permanent housing soon.