A police officer spent his lunch break sharing pizza with a homeless woman and it was captured in a heartwarming photo

For the past nine years of having been with the Goldsboro Police Department in North Carolina, Officer Michael Rivers has come to know the faces of the homeless in his community. But on Wednesday, he came upon a homeless woman he had never seen before. And her shirt caught his eye. It read, “Homeless. The fastest way of becoming a nobody.”

He had his windows down, so the two made eye contact and acknowledged each other with a simple, “Hey.” He drove away, but something kept tugging at him to go back, Rivers said.

“God put it on my heart to get her lunch,” the 29-year-old officer told CNN. “So I turned around and asked her, ‘Hey, did you eat today?’ And she said, ‘No.’”

So he grabbed pepperoni and cheese pizzas from a nearby pizza shop and sat down on the grass next to her. The pizza they shared was great, Rivers said, but the conversation was even better.

For 45 minutes, Rivers and the homeless woman, who he said identified herself as Michelle, shared their life stories. And the heartwarming moment was captured in a photo by a passerby, whose husband shared it on Facebook.

“Law enforcement does so much for our community, with a lot of it going unnoticed,” Chris Barnes said in his Facebook post, which has since garnered nearly 1,000 likes and more than 3,000 shares.

“We see you, Goldsboro P.D. Keep up the good work,” Barnes added.
As Michelle and Rivers started talking, Michelle told me that she has a 12-year-old daughter who is battling liver disease and is in foster care. She also has a 23-year-old son, Rivers said. Her husband, also homeless, stood across the street as the two conversed.

After the two finished their lunch, they went their separate ways. But Rivers said the interaction made him realize that he and Michelle were similar in how they were perceived by society.

Homeless people are often shunned by society and blamed for bringing the situation upon themselves.
Meanwhile, Rivers said he feels police officers are often portrayed in a negative light as society focuses on just the “bad apples.”

But “homeless people are just people who are down on their luck,” Rivers said. “It can happen to anybody.”

And for himself, he didn’t set out to be a police officer because he wanted to ruin a person’s day, Rivers said.

“I come to work, and my method is, ‘Who can I bless today? Who can I make smile?” Rivers said. ‘“I’m not the one who wants to take somebody’s father or mother away and put them in jail.”

According to police Chief Michael West, he saw the picture circulating on social media and applauded Rivers for his good deed.
“The circumstances around our job are often an unpleasant call to service, but this picture just shows we’re human like anyone else, and any chance we get to serve the community and help people, we take that chance,” West told CNN. “I’m very fortunate to have Officer Rivers in our department.”

Related Posts

30 Minutes ago in California, Sen. Adam Schiff was confirmed as…See more

30 minutes ago in California, Sen. Adam Schiff was confirmed as making headlines once again after a significant political development brought his name to the forefront. Schiff,…

JIMMY KIMMEL SUSPENDED IN CONTROVERSY OVER CHARLIE KIRK COMMENTS

Jimmy Kimmel has been suspended indefinitely by ABC after making divisive comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The host suggested the killer was a conservative, despite…

Donald Trump’s concerning 2 words to Melania after UK landing, revealed by lip reader

Donald and Melania Trump Arrive in UK for Windsor Stay Former U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania landed in Britain and headed directly to Windsor…

Donald Trump Criticized for Breaching Royal Protocol During UK Visit with King Charles

WINDSOR, England — Former U.S. President Donald Trump is once again under fire for his behavior during a high-profile meeting with the British royal family, after appearing…

Authorities Raid Soros-Backed Groups Over $3 Billion Foreign Funding Scandal

— In a sweeping operation that rocked the international NGO world, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided eight locations linked to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) and…

Woman Who ‘Died and Spent Three Days in Heaven’ Shares an Ominous Glimpse of the Future

Beliefs about life after death vary across religions and cultures, with some envisioning an afterlife or reincarnation, while science remains inconclusive. Julie Poole, a self-proclaimed spiritual guru,…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *