Harris County Sheriff's Deputy helps homeless man get his own apartment just in time for Thanksgiving

News - At 70 years old, one Houstonian has actually spent more time homeless than he has living in his own home. However, this Thanksgiving he is no longer on the street thanks to a kind-hearted Harris County Sheriff’s deputy. The 70-year-old’s loved ones say knowing he’s no longer homeless is truly a holiday miracle. 

"He’s one of eight brothers and sisters, and he’s the last one alive," Vickie Holub explains about her 70-year-old Uncle Robert. 

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Shortly after childhood, in his 20’s is when Robert first became homeless. "He’s tried living with all of us, but he preferred the street all these years," his niece explains and living on the street has taken a toll in many ways, including constantly being robbed.

"They take his wallet. They take his cell phone, his blankets, his backpack," Holub says about her Uncle Robert, who's now in a wheelchair.

When Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Soria spotted the homeless, disabled senior he immediately wanted to help.

"It feels good to be able to say hey this is actually going to be your last day on the streets. We’re actually going to get you a warm place to sleep and a place you can call home now," says Soria. After connecting him to resources such as a caseworker, "A lot of times he would get a caseworker that wouldn’t be able to find him and the case would just basically get dropped," Soria explains.

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So Deputy Soria became more involved until only one piece of paper was keeping Robert from having his own place. "We actually took him to the social security office to get that document to get this process finalized for him," the deputy explains. 

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the 70-year-old move into his new apartment. "He called me, and he goes ‘I got a place!’. He goes but I don’t have any furniture. He’s so excited. We are relieved, very grateful," says Holub.

"We took him up to his apartment and he kept saying I can’t believe this is happening, and it was a pretty touching moment. He also has my phone number, so he can call me at any time. It’s just God sent. He reached a point in life that he was at the bottom, and he probably felt hopeless that he was never going to get the help he needed, but we were able to help him," Deputy Soria explains. 

The 70-year-old’s family members say they are truly grateful to the deputy for giving them a really big reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving.