Poor Mom of 3 Gives Last Food Stamps to Hungry Homeless Lady, Gets Diamond Brooch in Return — Story of the Day

Hannah met a homeless old lady begging for food in the parking lot of a grocery. Despite not having enough money left on her SNAP card, she gave the lady most of what she had and received something remarkable in return, which led to a shocking decision.

"Ma'am! Ma'am!" Hannah heard as she walked and rummaged through her purse towards the local supermarket. She raised her head and saw an older lady standing next to the wide, automatic doors.

"Yes?" Hannah asked, looking at the terrible state of the woman.

"Kind ma'am, if you can find it in your heart to buy me something to eat, I'll be forever grateful. Anything. I don't need much," the old lady started, but a coughing fit interrupted her, and Hannah's heart shriveled at the painful sounds. She knew what it was like to be sick and with barely any money.

"Please, here," Vivienne said, reaching into her pocket and producing a diamond brooch. Hannah's eyes widened at the piece of jewelry. It was huge. It could be worth so much.

Two years ago, her husband left her for his secretary, who had to be ten years younger than him, and he didn't care about their three children. Two were under 10, and Mandy was a teenager who helped as best she could.

They had no other support system because Hannah was an orphan, and her husband's family cut them off as soon as he left. She thought that moment would be rock bottom, but things were about to worsen.

She was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, which required dialysis several times a week and prevented her from working too much. She had to quit her job and tried to find one part-time that would not be too strenuous. Her finances were in shambles, but at least her house was fully paid for.

Luckily, she was able to access as many government benefits and assistance as possible, including Medicare. She also budgeted her household so that her family could survive. Sadly, it was never enough.

Now, she was down to her last few dollars on her EBT card. But this sick, old woman needed her help. Was she truly going to say no?

"Excuse me, I've been coughing too much lately," the older woman apologized when she stopped coughing. "I think living in my car is not good for my health."

Hannah closed her eyes at that new tidbit of information. It only broke her heart even more, and she didn't need to hear any more. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll get you something."

She went into the supermarket, bought a few things she needed at home, and spent the rest of her money on food for the lady outside. She also added some cough medicine, which would hopefully help her.

"Here," Hannah said, passing a couple of bags to the lady outside.

"What? Oh, dear. This is way too much. What about you?" she asked. "I can't accept so much."

"Yes, you can. It's not much anyway, but please, accept it. I also included some medicine to help with your cough," Hannah insisted.

"Thank you," the homeless lady said, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm Vivienne. You don't know what this means to me."

"Don't worry about it, Vivienne, and honestly, I know what it's like to be so down on your luck you think there's no coming up." Hannah gave Vivienne the kindest smile she could give. She almost turned to leave, but the older woman grabbed her hand.

"Please, here," Vivienne said, reaching into her pocket and producing a diamond brooch. Hannah's eyes widened at the piece of jewelry. It was huge. It could be worth so much.

“Dear God. That must cost a lot of money!” Hannah exclaimed, looking at the brooch the homeless lady held in her hand.

"Take this. I never… had the heart to sell it. It belonged to my daughter, Cynthia. She died many years ago from cancer. No one could save her despite how hard we tried, and this is all I have left because my son, Austin… kicked me out of my house."

"What? That's terrible!" Hannah said, more interested in the story than the diamond brooch.

"Yeah. You see… the house belonged to my husband, and he willed it to our kids after he died. However, Cynthia and Austin decided that it was best for me to continue living there until I passed. Then they would decide what to do. However, when my daughter died, Austin changed plans completely. He kicked me out and didn't care about anything else. I've been trying to survive since then, but it's been crazy."

"I'm sorry, Vivienne. No one should have to live through that. But I'm also sorry for your loss. Look, keep this brooch and sell it. The money might be enough to get an apartment or something," Hannah said, pushing the old lady's hand back. However, Vivienne insisted, grabbing Hannah's hand and placing the brooch there.

"You helped a complete stranger when you didn't have to. That's more than my son did for me. I think you need this too. Please, I know you'll use it wisely," Vivienne continued, almost pleading for Hannah to take the brooch. And the gratefulness in the elderly lady's eyes gave the younger woman an idea.

"You know what? Come with me," Hannah said and guided her toward her car. "We'll come for your car later."

Vivienne was confused but followed suit out of gratitude.

Hannah took her to her house, introduced her to the children, and started making dinner. They had a beautiful time, and she told Vivienne to spend the night.

The older woman never left. Hannah was happier knowing that an adult was in the house caring for her kids. Even Mandy liked that she was not so responsible for her younger siblings anymore.

Hannah helped Vivienne apply for all the government benefits she could get, and they eventually started coming through. They converted her unused garage to a space Vivienne could use. It wasn't much, but it didn't get cold since they lived in Florida. It was better than her car.

Their household was bigger now, but soon, more money started coming in, as Vivienne started contributing. With her help, Hannah was able to get a part-time job working from home and not worry her teenager with too many responsibilities. The older woman became the grandmother her kids never had.

Vivienne even accompanied Hannah went she went for her dialysis, and she never felt alone until the day Hannah finally had her transplant.

Hannah placed the diamond brooch in Vivienne's space at some point, only to find it later in her room. For years, both women would "return" the pin to each other, but neither sold it.

When Vivienne died, Hannah discovered that the older woman had applied for life insurance, making Hannah and her kids her beneficiaries, and that money changed their lives forever.

Hannah never had the heart to sell the diamond brooch and saved it, thinking that Mandy would like to have it in the future.

What can we learn from this story?

• One random act of kindness can change your life. Hannah decided to share the last of her food stamp (SNAP) money with Vivienne, and she was rewarded in many ways later.
• It's always best to prepare for a rainy day. Hannah was caught off guard and wasn't financially prepared when her husband left and her health suffered.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a poor woman who let a strange old lady spend the night at home and received something surprising later.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.