After 30 Years, This Homeless Man Discovered His True Identity Thanks To A Police Officer

after 30 years on the streets this homeless man discovers his true identity thanks to a police officer [Music] [Applause] [Music] there are countless homeless people who do the best they can to survive on city streets all around the world well unfair it's easy to make assumptions about why these people wound up homeless poor financial decisions drug habits or just all-around bad luck however sometimes even our most basic assumptions can turn out to be totally wrong one police officer crossed paths with homeless folks while on duty yet there was one man who caught his eye the officer repeatedly warned the man about asking passers-by for change when the officer finally decided to write him up he had no idea that it would change both of their lives forever 67 year-old Mick Meyers hadn't had an easy life adopted as an infant in San Leandro California he was never fully accepted by the family that took him in when his adoptive parents passed away his siblings turned their backs on him leaving Mick to fend for himself Mick struggled to make ends meet on his own eventually he found work as a truck driver and was able to make a little bit of money still he couldn't shake the feelings of isolation and heartache that he found in his solitary existence although Mick hard he eventually lost his job driving unable to find employment elsewhere Mick soon found himself living on the streets and panhandling and playing music in order to survive this went on for 30 years deputy sheriff Jacob sois well knew Mick well for years he would approach Mick on the street and tell him that he couldn't ask for change from passers-by eventually he got tired of giving mcward ins and decided to take action deputy sheriff's wall well decided to formally write up a citation for Mick in order to do so however he needed a form of ID from Mick to process the citation Mick answered him honestly he didn't have any form of identification I've given him so many warnings remember deputy sheriff's wawel and I asked him for his ID and he said he didn't have an ID and I immediately asked why don't you have an ID deputy sheriff's wah-wah added I learned more that he was disabled and had been homeless for 30 years he was not an alcoholic he did not use drugs he was just a senior citizen on his own this flew in the face of assumptions the officer made about Mick Mick went on to explain that he was on the streets because he didn't have access to Social Security in order to access those funds he would need an ID something that was almost impossible for him to acquire well you've got somebody to help you now deputy sheriffs wall well said he told make that he would help them get proper identification this he hoped would be the first step in getting Mick off the streets the road to getting that ID wouldn't be easy in fact even with the officer by his side it proved to be a tremendous struggle that was because the DMV had long since erased any record of Mick from their system and in order to get him back in it needed documents that Mick obviously didn't have the DMV told Mick that he would need to show his birth certificate and two forms of identification that confirmed his residency in the state of California even deputy sheriff's wawel was stymied how does a homeless person come up with multiple forms of identification so deputy sheriff's wha well enlisted the help of his own pastor to get Mick the residency forms he needed he also personally tried to track down Mick's birth certificate when he finally on earth that Mick didn't just get an ID he found his birth name Gordon Michael Oakley but that wasn't the end of Mick's story in fact things would only get even more unbelievable after a local news channel picked up Mick's story an investigator named Mark asked ins perked up his ears mark worked for a company called miracle messages which reunites the homeless with any living relatives they may have but not know about mark quickly went to work and before long made an amazing discovery mark discovered that Mick's birth mother's name was Marie Pauline Oakley Marie married while she was still a teenager and she moved to Tennessee with her husband when things didn't work out she moved back home to California at that time she was pregnant and already the mother to a toddler mark managed to track down Marie and found out that she went by the name of Polly she was over Joe to receive word about the Sun she gave up I've often wondered what might have happened to him she said but at the same time I just assumed he had a good family because that's what I'd been told Pali revealed that as a baby Mick needed expensive surgery that she couldn't afford at the suggestion of her mother she gave him up she assumed that Mick would get the care he needed and be placed with a family who could provide him with opportunities she simply could not two weeks after mark found her Polly met Mick for the very first time since he was a baby Mick didn't even make it through the door before Polly swept him up in her arms eager to reconnect with the child she hadn't seen in decades well Polly felt horrible to learn about the difficulties Mick faced growing up she was beyond relieved to be reunited with him Mick was also ecstatic he went from being despised and shunned by his adoptive family to loved by his birth family Molly opened up her home to Mick giving him both a place to live and time to get to know each other everyday they were thankful for the hard work of deputy sheriff swallow who brought them back together and saved Mick's life in the process there are so many stories like this one that don't have a happy ending it's just exceptional that this police officer was able to make such a tremendous difference in Mick's life doubtlessly he'll be forever grateful to deputy sheriff's wawel share this heartwarming story with your friends [Music]