After 30 Years On The Streets, This Homeless Man Discovered His True Identity Thanks To A Police Off

after 30 years on the streets this homeless man discovered his true identity thanks to a police officer [Music] for over 30 years mick myers lived on the streets of california struggling to survive weary and haggard from the bright and burning sun meyer soon found himself having run-ins with the law in alameda county due to his panhandling however he risked his safety and his freedom in order to make enough money to fill his belly on a daily basis when one sheriff decided to issue myers a citation neither men had any idea it would be the beginning of a life-changing journey for them one filled with heartache facing the past and finding one's true identity mick myers didn't start out on the wrong side of the tracks in fact when he was an infant he was adopted by a loving family in san leandro california growing up he was easygoing loved playing in the marching band and had a nice group of friends unfortunately things at home were less than stellar while meyer's adopted parents tried to make him feel like he was part of the family not everyone was happy to have him around his mother tried to be affectionate but his siblings rejected him despite his best efforts his adoptive siblings ignored him completely eventually myers began to cut himself off from his friends in the outside world becoming a quiet introvert he often felt isolated and alone and according to myers this feeling followed him into adulthood as myers got older he lost contact with his friends and described life as living life as alone as a person could possibly be his relationship with his family fell apart when he found out he was adopted at age 16. while this explained why his siblings were distant it didn't help the situation and then tragedy struck meyer's adoptive parents suddenly passed away after their deaths his siblings who never liked him to begin with shut him out entirely realizing he was never really family to them myers cut all ties and went out on his own now he'd have to survive alone and try to make a life for himself with no ties to anyone myers ended up taking a job as a truck driver it was the perfect job for a loaner like him he enjoyed getting lost in his thoughts while on the open road however it only furthered his social isolation unfortunately the open road eventually took a toll on meyer's mental state he ended up losing his job and with no other source of income he lost everything before long myers was living on the streets with no one to turn to myers would spend the next 30 years living on the streets of san leandro california he'd play his guitar and panhandle in an effort to make enough money for a hot meal sadly the locals didn't take kindly to him and he found himself passed by most of the time begging for money didn't bring in enough cash to live off of as months on the streets turned to years homelessness became the new normal for myers hope soon diminished and myers believed he'd live and die on the streets without a roof over his head thankfully fate had other plans deputy sheriff jacob swalwell had encountered myers panhandling in alameda county on more than one occasion he'd warned him about begging people for money while trying to show him a kindness the rest of the public seemed to neglect unfortunately myers did not heed swalwell's warnings he noticed that despite warning in multiple times myers continued to beg for money swalwell knew his options were running out and it was time to give myers a final warning believing he had to make things official swalwell decided to file a formal citation he asked buyers for his id and was informed he didn't have one i'd given him so many warnings 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 swalwell and myers soon began to converse about his life the sheriff soon learned that myers wasn't some criminal vagrant trying to cause trouble he didn't have an addiction nor was he homeless because of a vice he was simply a man who'd lost his family and had been given no direction in his life i learned more that he was disabled and he'd been homeless for thirty years he was not an alcoholic he didn't use drugs he didn't use tobacco he was just a senior citizen on his own swalwell told cbs news suawell wanted to help him but what options were there for myers since myers didn't have a home he was unable to collect social security or any type of benefits in order to receive any assistance he needed an id thankfully luck was on meyer's side and his situation was about to change drastically swalwell couldn't help but be touched by meyer's story he realized he needed to help this man and was willing to put in the work needed to get him an id even if it was only the first step to get him off the streets it'd be more than worth it unfortunately getting an id would prove easier said than done most of us can attest to the fact that the dmv is no picnic the lines are long and as myers would soon discover obtaining an id is a lot more complicated than it sounds almost immediately swalwell and myers hit a roadblock despite having a driver's license when he was a truck driver the dmv had no record of myers in their system the clerk informed the men to obtain a new id he'd need to submit a large stack of paperwork sadly most of the documentation myers wouldn't be able to produce for example proof of residency however swalwell was not going to give up that easily myers found himself quickly losing hope he was used to being met with adversity in his life why should this situation be any different thankfully swalwell was there to encourage him and not let him admit defeat realizing he needed more help swalwell enlisted the help of his personal pastor they needed to track down all the documents myers needed for his proof of residence together they set out to make it happen swalwell worked tirelessly to track down meyer's birth certificate it took some digging but he eventually found it the certificate even had the name he was given by his birth parents gordon michael oakley with the documentation ready meyers could finally get the id he needed after what seemed impossible myers finally obtained his personal identification soon the news would catch wind of his story and feature him as a local feature they were amazed by swalwell's kindness we both realized at the same time that there's a real person there and not just the stereotype we saw when we first met each other myers told reporters swalwell told cbs if there's something as simple as helping them just get back on their feet by getting them an id so we can get some state or government federal benefits then it's the least we can be doing as law enforcement officers the story piqued the interest of private investigator mark askins interested in meyer's story askins decided to reunite myers with his family using a box of old ledgers and meyer's birth name askins tirelessly searched for any living relatives then the unthinkable happened askins located meyer's birth mother marie pauline oakley her story was one of heartache and tribulations she'd met a sailor named wiley at 16 and had a whirlwind romance before getting married in reno sadly the honeymoon didn't last long emery found herself living in a cabin in tennessee the cabin was in shambles marie recalled even worse her husband gave all his naval pay to his mother leaving her with nothing to care for herself or the newborn baby there was a bed for me to sleep in but there was no crib for the baby i had to put two chairs together and put a food locker on it she described marie would eventually leave her husband now with a toddler and pregnant with myers after returning to california to live with her mother she struggled to get by for two years when myers developed a hole in his stomach at the age of two she knew she couldn't care for him the way he deserved at the urging of her mother marie made the difficult decision to give myers up for adoption to a local couple at a church marian always wondered what happened to her son and now in his 60s they were about to be reunited after a lifetime apart askins made initial contact with marie and when she found out he'd found her son she was overjoyed at first myers and marie connected by the phone but they would soon be together once marie and myers were reunited the bond was almost immediate while there myers had the opportunity to meet his extended family now he plans to eventually move closer to them after securing a job and collecting his social security and it was all thanks to the kindness of one stranger who chose to look beyond his circumstances and see him for the man he truly was you