SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)—For eight months, Rhea Holmes was homeless, sleeping in Oakwood Cemetery on her husband’s grave, trying to survive day to day. Her situation turned around after a Syracuse Police Officer, Jamie Pastorello, first noticed her walking in Thornton Park carrying a heavy box of groceries on her head.
‘Not just an officer…He’s a human’: Syracuse Police officer reunites with woman he helped in viral photo
He approached Holmes and offered her a ride, and she asked Pastorello to take her to Oakwood Cemetery to visit her father and husband. But it wasn’t until days later, when Syracuse Police responded to a call, that the same officer realized Holmes had no home.
“When I got done with the call I was on, I called Rhea, and I said, ‘Rhea, what’s going on?’” Pastorello said. “She became emotional and broke down.”
The second Pastorello found out he promised that she would never sleep on the ground again. Just two weeks later, with the help of A Tiny Home for Good, Holmes was handed the keys to her new home…