In this day and age with modern technology so easily in our reach and at our fingertips, it’s pretty convenient to keep in touch with family, friends, and acquaintances. Whether they live in the same city or overseas, modernity has granted us the unbelievable capacity to shoot a text message from the California desert to a 5-star hotel in London, or make a call from Sydney to a friend’s mobile on a boat on a lake in Toronto! You’d think that no one would get lost or fall through the cracks. How is that even possible? But it is, and it happened to a lonely man who’s been living on the streets for over 30 years. For some of us, the opportunity to keep in touch and have a support system just isn’t available, given the hand of cards life has dealt us.
For decades, Mick Myers has wandered the streets of San Francisco, describing himself “…as alone as a person can possibly be.” He has no kids, never married and the only love he’s ever known is from his adopted mother. Mick plays his guitar for tips and panhandles for money along the highway, where one day, he met an officer who changed his life.
Deputy Jacob Swalwell from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department has known Mick for years, noticing him asking for money on the side of the road. There have been multiple times where he’s had to ask Mick to desist since it’s illegal, but with nothing else to do, Mick had no choice but to carry on.
Rather than punish the 67-year-old homeless man, Deputy Jacob took a different approach one day, asking him “What’s it going to take to get you off the street?” This is where Mick’s story takes a complete 180 degrees turn. Mick is a senior with no identification card, no social security, no medical and no one to help him through the bureaucratic red tape. With a little help from Deputy Jacob and a private investigator, they were able to research and utilize resources and technology to track down Mick’s family – his birth mom. This help helped give him a piece of identification!
After being lost and estranged, Mick’s identity and whole life story begin to emerge through the woodwork. A new life was waiting for him only 250 miles away.
Click below to watch this incredible story of a man given a second chance at life!
