With no identification, no Social Security card and only a box to live on, John Helinski was homeless and nameless for three years. Then something came to his mind that changed his life for good.

While sitting on the ground one day, Helinski remembered that he used to have an account with a certain Landmark Bank. “Then it became Bank of America,” he said. The account was still there, and the Social Security Administration hadn’t forgotten about him. It had kept paying Helinski benefits for years, and they had stacked up high.

But getting him into the system was hard because his ID and Social Security cards had been stolen. Fortunately, thanks to a big-hearted cop and a case worker determined to untangle major bureaucracy, Helinski hit it big. The account balance is so high that he is now able to buy buying his own home, in cash, with monthly benefits to live on.

“I guess I’m exhilarated, excited, you know,” he said.

“We weren’t quite sure what to say,” said Tampa police Officer Dan McDonald, who helped Helinski.

ABC News picked up this amazing story in the video below:

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