This is a heartbreaking scene.
A stranger’s act of kindness and a homeless woman’s show of gratitude has gone viral.
Carmen Mendez and her boyfriend went out to eat at a Raising Cane restaurant in California. She noticed a homeless woman quietly asking people if she could eat their leftovers. Mendez watched as everyone ignored her, continuing to throw their food in the garbage.
Mendez had a big heart and wanted to do something to help the woman during her moment of need. After her meal, she asked the restaurant to give her a takeout container, which she promptly handed over to the homeless woman so she could eat something during the holiday season. But she believed she needed to do more.
“I felt like a horrible human being feeding her my leftover chicken strip… she deserved so much more… so I bought her a whole meal… she deserved to eat a hot meal,” Mendez said.
When Mendez ordered the meal, she asked the worker not to throw the homeless woman out of the restaurant. She gave the meal to the surprised woman, who then displayed an act of “pure, real gratitude.”
Mendez then shares this touching photo on Facebook of a homeless woman tightly embracing her, tears filling her eyes. Since Mendez posted the photo, it has received over 200,000 likes and nearly 90,000 shares, thanks to the heartwarming story behind the beautiful picture of two strangers sharing a touching moment.
Unfortunately, Carmen sees homeless people often in her home city of Anaheim, California.
“I live in an area that’s not the greatest,” she told Today. “Literally, right outside my door, there are homeless people at the parks. So sometimes I’ll go sit with them and ask about their day and ask if they want to go to a shelter. I’m more than happy to put them in my car and take them there.”
“That hug she gave me was like a hug I had never felt… those tears she shed were felt deep in my heart,” Mendez said.
“I held her tight and let her let it out. I wasn’t repulsed by it. I just held her. And that is a moment I will never ever forget. So next time you judge a homeless person, think twice… not all of them are homeless because of drug addiction or because they are lazy.”
There are many who would caution against giving the homeless money, but no one could argue with Carmen’s show of compassion. Let her example inspire you to have compassion for someone less fortunate today.
It is a fact that the USA is the most compassionate and given nation on earth.
If we all were a bit more giving the world would be a much better place. jwstx