homelessness

Many people who find themselves homeless for extended periods of time are often also living with a severe mental health condition. This can make it harder for them to find a job, keep up with bills and maintain familiar connections especially if they're unmedicated which often occurs due to loss of insurance connected to employment.

Homelessness doesn't mean a person is unworthy of love or that their family and friends aren't concerned for their safety. Sometimes their loved ones simply don't know where to look for them once they're no longer in the vicinity. Jeff Benardi runs the YouTube channel The Furry Pilot Diner where he goes around caring for stray dogs and making sure the dogs of houseless individuals have food.

On one of his recent missions to feed dogs, he ran across Michael J., a homeless man that recognized Benardi as his cousin. Michael's reaction took Benardi by surprise at first as the man was so excited that he recognized someone from his past that he had difficulty verbalizing what he was trying to say.

a man pushing a cart full of bags down a street Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

After introducing himself as Jeff, the man excitedly says, "Jeff Benardi," and begins shouting and jumping in place as Benardi asks how he knows his name. That's when Michael breaks the news, "we're cousins," which clearly confused the good samaritan. You can hear the confusion in his voice as he clarifies. Suddenly it was like Michael remembered everything at once as he tries to explain their connection.

"Oh my God! We went to Reed High School," he shouts before Benardi confirms he went to the school in 1986. "Listen, we used to go fishing, we used to drink Bud...no not Bud. No it's the other one. It's a cheap beer. Name another one...Keystone. We used to go fishing. I...we...we worked at the Clarkson Company."

It's then you can hear the recognition hit Benardi's voice when he confirms he worked at Clarkson as well. Michael continued to stumble over his words trying to get out more information to prove they knew each other but Bernardi cuts him off to ask for a hug. The moving video is cut short, presumably due to overwhelming emotions as you can hear Benardi's voice cracking towards the end of the exchange. But that wasn't the end, Benardi has been staying in touch with Michael trying to get him off the streets.

In one of his first update videos, he thought he had lost Michael after the police cleared out the encampment where the man was sleeping. After some searching, he was able to locate him sleeping on a couch outside. Michael became emotional when Benardi asks if he's tried homeless shelters saying, "yeah, I don't want to go to a shelter I just want my family."

In another update Benardi writes, "Today I am trying to locate family for Michael. We were childhood friends and my family loved him so we always called ourselves cousins. I love this guy! I tried bringing him to my house and he mentally was not prepared and melted down insisting I brought him back to this location until his family showed up."

Benardi admits he's out of his depth with trying to help his friend but is determined to help him and will keep showing up for as long as he needs to. It seems as though Michael may be struggling with a mental health condition as he appears to drift in and out of reality, but that doesn't stop his cousin from trying to help. Benardi's followers were able to donate enough money to get Michael a phone so he could stay in touch and hopefully reach his family, which is exactly what can now happen.

According to a commenter, they're Michael's brother and after seeing the video are actively trying to help him as well, writing in part, "I found my Brother today. Unfortunately he did not want my help. He was staying near my cousins house and they would check in on him everyday. His mind is pretty messed up. He is on his way back to our mother's house. So hopefully he will chill out for a few days."

All of that from a chance encounter with someone that jogged a 25 year plus memory. Sometimes the power of social media can feel surreal. Michael says he hasn't seen his family in years and is obviously seeking familial connection. Hopefully once he is reacclimated to interacting with others he will be able to get the help he needs to come back around fully, until that time Benardi and Michael's family will continue to look out for him to make sure he's safe and knows that he is loved.