In November 2017, a homeless man from New Haven, Connecticut, changed his life forever with a single act of honesty. Elmer Alvarez stumbled upon a lost check worth nearly $11,000. Instead of trying to cash it, he tracked down the rightful owner and returned it. Alvarez never imagined that his good deed would not only make headlines but also end his struggle with homelessness.

The check belonged to real estate agent Roberta Hoskie, who had accidentally dropped it while running errands in the busy city. When Alvarez contacted her to return it, Hoskie was both relieved and surprised—not only because the money was safe, but also because the man who found it was homeless. Deeply moved by his integrity, she rewarded him with money at first but quickly realized she could do much more.

Hoskie arranged for Alvarez to have a place to live and later enrolled him in a job training program through her school. With her help, he studied for a real estate exam and gained the stability he had been missing for years. A video capturing the emotional moment when Hoskie told Alvarez he would no longer have to sleep outside quickly spread online, inspiring millions who saw it.

Their bond didn’t end there. By January 2019, Alvarez and Hoskie announced plans to open transitional housing for homeless teens and young adults. Alvarez explained that the project would offer essential services to help others avoid the hardships he endured. “I know what it is to be homeless. Nobody deserves to live like that,” he told CBS News, emphasizing the importance of giving back.

Hoskie’s empathy for Alvarez came from her own experience. Years earlier, she too had faced homelessness as a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Her journey from poverty to becoming a successful real estate agent gave her a deep understanding of Alvarez’s struggles. Today, she not only continues her work in real estate but also shares her story in her book Poverty Curse Broken: The Roberta Hoskie Story, reminding others that with kindness, faith, and determination, it is possible to break the cycle of hardship.