3 Stories of People Who Became Homeless During Hard Times

One evening, out in the cold, I remembered my dad’s warnings about Louis. “He’s not right for you,” Dad had said. I wish I’d listened. Desperate to reconnect with him, I decided to buy a phone to call him.

I knew that if I borrowed a phone to call him, maybe he wouldn’t pick up the first time or even the second. But I’d have to keep trying….

I starved myself for a week to save enough to buy a second-hand phone. My tears didn’t stop when I dialed Dad’s number.

“Hello?” he asked.

“It’s… Amber, Dad,” I sobbed into the phone.

“Amber, sweetheart! Is that you? Oh God! How are things going?”

“I need your help, dad!”

“Is-Is everything okay?”

“Just come as soon as possible, Dad!” I said.

He arrived quickly. In a hotel room, I poured out my heart about the betrayal and my days on the streets. Dad comforted me.

The next day, Dad and I went to the orphanage to start the paperwork to bring Allen home. Once everything was finalized, Dad took Allen and me to New York.

He also hired a private detective to find out where Louis was. It turned out Louis had been cheating on me with his boss’s daughter.

When his boss found out the truth — that Louis was married and had abandoned his family — he fired him. Louis ended up living on the streets. It felt like justice was done.

Back home, with my dad and Allen, I felt stronger. Life had knocked me down but taught me resilience. And with Dad’s support, I knew we could face anything ahead.

Coming up next is Brandon’s story, a homeless man and father of 3 living in a tent. One day, he decided to help a stranger, ignoring his own needs, and his life was never the same again.

2. Brandon: I Gave My Last $2 to a Stranger at a Gas Station, the Next Day I Inherited His Company

Four months on the streets with my three kids taught me a lot about life’s harshness and the small acts of kindness that can keep hope alive.

We lived in a tent near a gas station, a makeshift home barely shielding us from the cold. It was tough, but we managed to find moments of joy, making the best of it.

One chilly morning, as I counted the few coins I had left, I decided to head into the gas station to buy a can of beans — our planned dinner for the evening.

Inside, I stumbled upon a scene that jolted my heart. An elderly man stood at the counter, confusion written all over his face.

“I’m sorry, young lady, what did you say about the water being funny?” he asked.

“I said you don’t have enough money, sir!” the cashier snapped.

“Yes, it is a sunny day!” he replied.

Suddenly, some young man in line grabbed the elderly man, yelling, “You need more cash!”

Watching this, my heart sank. The elderly man just wanted a bottle of water to take his pills, but his request for an affordable bottle was met with hostility. “If you can’t afford to pay, you’ll have to go!” the cashier shouted.

I couldn’t stand idly by. Stepping forward, I emptied my cup of change onto the counter. “Have a heart, lady,” I said, deciding to pay for the man’s water.

The cashier counted the money with distaste. “That’ll cover it,” she muttered. I left the can of beans and handed the water to the elderly man.

“Here you go, sir,” I spoke clearly, making sure he could read my lips.

“Why did you help me when you needed the money?” he asked me as we left the store, noticing my tent with kids nearby.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being homeless, it’s that the world works when people are kind to each other,” I explained.

“But what are your kids going to eat?” he questioned.

“There’s a chance I’ll find some scraps at the fast food joint across the street,” I assured him.

The next morning, two jeeps parked near our tent, and a man in a fancy suit stepped out.

“Mr. Grives’ last wish was for me to deliver this to you,” he said. There was a letter offering me the inheritance of his business.

“Is it a joke?” I asked in shock.

The man handed me legal documents. With a mix of apprehension and hope, I signed the papers. This could be the break my children and I needed, a chance to escape the streets.

We were driven to a huge mansion. “Can we put up a tent under that tree with pink flowers?” my youngest, Derrick, asked innocently.

“We’re going to live inside that house, silly! Right, Dad?” my daughter Kelly chimed in.

As I nodded, the reality of our new life began to sink in. Yet, the moment I opened the doors, something was wrong. The house was in disarray — someone had been there.

“We’ve examined the entire perimeter of the house and found no sign of forced entry, sir,” the officer reported after I called 911.

That evening, I got an anonymous call. In a robotic yet menacing tone, the voice told me I had 24 hours to decline all that Mr. Grives’ left me, leave the house, or else I would lose everything I love.

The mansion came with Mr. Grives’ loyal staff, and one of them warned me that this could be the doing of Mr. Grives’ eldest son, Christopher. I resolved to go to the cops in the morning.

But in the morning, my kids were vanished! Although the clever perpetrator had managed to hide his face from most of the CCTVs in and around the house, there was one he didn’t know about.

Mr. Grives’ staff watched in horror as they recognized the leader of three thugs drugging my children. It was Christopher.

From there on, the cops put everyone on the task of tracking Christopher, and didn’t rest until later that afternoon, when Christopher were spotted on the border of the state with my kids in the back of an old van.

Christopher was arrested, and my children were safe. But their fear had set in deep, and I had a choice to make: to heal and embrace the gift that kind soul left us, or to walk away, rebuilding from the start.

“Daddy, are we going to leave our home again?” Kelly’s question broke my heart.

I wrapped my arms around them. “We’re going to be okay. You want to know why?”

“IBecause the most valuable thing we have is right here, in my arms. So long as we stick together, we’ll always be rich in the most important way: love.”

While Brandon was blessed with children who understand the value of kindness and love, Mr. Greg wasn’t. Coming up next is his story.

3. Mr. Greg: My Teen Daughter Humiliated the Homeless, I Had to Teach Her a Lesson

I always thought I was doing right things for my daughter, Jane. I made sure she had everything she needed, but I missed teaching her something crucial — compassion for others. This hit me hard a few days ago when I lost my wallet.

After a fruitless search, I returned home to find Jane mocking a homeless man and his daughter at our doorstep. The shock set in when the man handed me my wallet, untouched. I was moved by that man’s gesture.

But Jane dismissively called them “trash,” and spoke to them with so much disgust…it broke my heart. I knew I had to fix this.

That evening, I invited the man, Mark, and his daughter for dinner. It was my chance to teach Jane about generosity.

“Dad, check the money! He probably stole it!” Jane said as I checked my wallet. Everything was there.

“All the money is here, sweetie. You’re mistaken,” I told her.

Seeing Mark’s and Lolita’s discomfort, I invited them to stay for dinner.