Everyone Ignored This Old Man Who Sits On Street Corner Every Night—Until One Stranger Finds Out Why

[Music] one summer's evening in 2016 Lisa Phandroid spotted an elderly man pushing his wheelchair and a walker across an overpass in Phoenix Arizona and over the next few months the man became a regular site in the area fan rich however was heartbroken at the thought of the gentleman's predicament so one day she decided to ask what he was doing fan rich works both as a health coach at Beachbody and as a bar wrist at Starbucks in Phoenix it was while she was going about her daily business moreover that she spotted the elderly gentleman and that wouldn't be the only time fan rich would see him either as fan rich described to 12news in November 2016 I saw this elderly man crossing the overpass on the 51 in the middle of summer at 8:30 p.m. at night pushing his wheelchair in a walker it was a sight that the health coach found somewhat upsetting indeed as fan rich would later write on a GoFundMe page there have been several times I've actually gone out of my way to drive another way home because seeing him there has brought me to tears but when she had caught a glimpse of him she had spotted something on the elderly man's Walker it seemed he had a purpose hanging from the walking aid was a sign in some lights with a notice reading copper coins for sale and the vision moved fan rich considerably I felt why would somebody his age have to be out here in the Phoenix heat working it's not fair she told 12 news and yet the more fan rich saw the old man the more she wondered about him who was he where had he come from what was he doing selling coins in the scorching Phoenix heat so one day in June 2016 she drove up to his usual spot to find out and sure enough the man whom locals know as Paul had set up his makeshift stall right there sofe and rich pulled up I didn't see any water there so I stopped and I got a couple of bottles of water she later told 12 News that I said it's time to hear his story because there's a reason why he's here it turned out that Paul had moved to Phoenix 37 years ago now in his late 70s he and his wife of 54 years rely on Social Security to make ends meet and so Paul sells his coins to make some extra cash he sticks faithfully to a spot under the illuminated sign of Church's Chicken and stays until lights go out fan rich admitted to Paul that she had driven past him under the Church's Chicken sign for months and had been worried about him all that time to that the elderly man whom locals know to be sweet and genuine replied simply God watches out for me and as fan rich had $10 with her she asked Paul to find his two favorite coins and promptly bought them touched by his story and the tenacity he showed by grafting in the sweltering Phoenix heat fan rich then took his picture and eventually posted his story online their fan rich set up a GoFundMe page in an attempt to drum up a little support for Paul and his wife and when a news anchor in San Francisco shared the post the story went viral and the fundraiser became a roaring success soon enough in fact locals and well-wishers from further afield had raised over $10,000 for Paul and his wife in the process fan rich also learned that she wasn't the first half struck up a friendship with a coin seller indeed it seemed as if Paul had been busy trading his warez for several years he stays here until the Church's Chicken sign goes off most nights just about rain or shine Tyler Carl who befriended Paul several years ago told 12 News he is one of the nicest most genuine people you'll ever meet one of the most trusting people as well Paul's presence also hasn't gone unnoticed by workers at the fast-food joint he works in front of staff regularly check on the old man wary of any trouble that he may encounter but when Carl stopped by to tell Paul about the money collected for him he wasn't there perhaps Paul's disappearance had something to do with having no more coins to sell after all when his story went viral the old man suddenly received an influx of new customers small groups would arrive to buy paul's coins and stick around to talk to him but there was more going on in the shy old man's life than many people realized weeks after the story broke Paul's wife was admitted to the hospital every day then the elderly gentleman gave up his spot in front of the fast-food restaurant to remain by his wife's bedside when fan rich finally tracked Paul down though and told him of the money that had been raised they usually reserved Paul's emotions got the better of him the barista explained on the GoFundMe page when I met with Paul tonight and gave him some information about what you've all done he cried he grabbed my hand and held on tight with his wife wheelchair-bound and parl coping with health issues of his own medical bills were high it's a lot for anyone to cope with not least an elderly couple living on Social Security and what Paul having no family in Phoenix to help either the situation may have looked dire for the pair indeed at one point Paul and his wife came close to losing their home but thanks to the outpouring of support from the community and the generosity of complete stranger the fundraiser prevented that from happening so far the GoFundMe page has raised more than 32 thousand dollars for them and fan rich still regularly visits Paul at his usual spot in front of the Church's Chicken restaurant she told 12 News he's a very humble man and doesn't like to accept help but we're hoping this will be something to maybe live out some of his years in a little more comfort than he has been [Music] you

Channel: nollygrio

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Rating: 4.7992678 out of 5

Keywords: Nollygrio, nollygrio uplift, homeless man, old man, roadside, coins, generous, act of kindness, nollygrio, nollygrio news, nollygrio heartwarming, nollygrio uplifting, nollygrio heartbreaking, news, uplifting, videos, uplifting news, heartwarming news, heart warming videos, sad videos, heartbreaking videos, heart melting videos, viral nollygrio, touching, moving, inspiring stories, nollygrio amazing stories, touching stories, around the world, nollygrio crime

Id: AU2xlcSEHPI

Length: 6min 1sec (361 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 21 2019