A homeless man named John Helinski found out he may have an apartment and pension checks coming soon after living in a cardboard box in downtown Tampa for three years.
All of Helinski’s personal IDs were stolen while he was living on the street. However, that didn’t stop Tampa Police Department Officer Daniel McDonald and Helinski’s case manager, Charles Inman of Drug Abuse and Comprehensive Coordinating Office Inc. (DACCO), from trying to help him locate a forgotten bank account. Helinski’s birth home in Poland made it that much harder, according to CNN. It took a few weeks, but they were finally able to identify the account.
After the case worker and officer were able to narrow down a legal record of foreign birth, they helped him get a new Social Security card and driver’s license. But neither was prepared for Helinski to remember that he once had a Landmark Bank account.
The bank didn’t forget though. According to an ABC report, Bank America bought Landmark Bank, and Helinski’s checks continued to roll in to the transitioned account.
CNN reports that now Helinski is pondering on getting a new place and what else he’ll do with his Social Security funds.
