Homeless man grateful for boots, but barefoot again

• Kingofrunes wrote on 2012-12-06 01:18

  
  The homeless man who was photographed being given a pair of boots by a New York City police officer in Times Square on a bitterly cold night last month was spotted on the Upper West Side on Sunday. And he was once again barefoot.
  "Those shoes are hidden," Jeffrey Hillman, the 54-year-old homeless man, told the New York Times. "They are worth a lot of money—I could lose my life."
  On Nov. 14, NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counterterrorism duty in Times Square, saw Hillman without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store, knelt down and gave them to Hillman.
  The random act of kindness was captured on camera by an Arizona tourist, who emailed the photo to the NYPD. It was then posted on the NYPD's Facebook page and soon went viral, generating more than 600,000 "likes," 47,000 comments and countless warmed hearts.
  Hillman—an Army veteran and estranged father of two who said he's spent about 10 years homeless in New York—told the Times he did not remember the photo being taken, but was aware of the attention it's received.
  "I was put on YouTube," he told the paper. "I was put on everything without permission. What do I get? This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie."
  "I appreciate what the officer did, don't get me wrong," Hillman continued. "I wish there were more people like him in the world."
  He added: "I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost."
  Hillman's brother Kirk lives in Nazareth, Pa., and according to the Daily Mail had not heard from since January.
  "We love our brother very much," Kirk Hillman told the Daily News. "Our door is always open to him, but this is a lifestyle he's chosen."
  

  
  
  Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/nypd-homeless-man-boots-tillman-134758145.html
  
  This just goes to show that there's a lot of homeless people you cannot help because they refuse help and don't want to change. You can't help people who are unwilling to change their lifestyle. Sadly there's a good chunk of people who are homeless by choice. Not saying everyone that's homeless is that way cause they choose to but you can't deny that there's a good chunk of people are that way by choice.
  
  DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH WHAT THIS HOMELESS GUY DID. I'M TALKING ABOUT OTHER HOMELESS PEOPLE THAT PEOPLE WERE DISCUSSING IN THE COMMENTS SECTION SO PLEASE GET OFF MY BACK ABOUT IT.
• paladin wrote on 2012-12-06 01:20
  This case i must disargee
  He only is bootless since,hes scared,homeless people are nice but some of the other people on the street not so much
• radionoise wrote on 2012-12-06 01:25
  Isn't his reason for not wearing the shoes valid? If that environment can be dangerous if you have something of value on you, I could understand why he would want to hide them.
• Blassreiter wrote on 2012-12-06 01:33
  Probably wants to save it until it rains/snow or w/e.
  
  But in any case I do not believe in giving items/money to homeless people. I don't trust what they would do with it, especially if I assume that the reason they became homeless is because they're reckless with the things they have. It's better to just give food/water if you really want to help them. Giving them money is like giving them the ability to buy a knife which they can either kill themselves or others.
  
  Also I believe that if you're going to help one homeless person, then you are obliged to help every homeless person. Basically if you helped one homeless person and you don't help another then why is it that you bothered to help that one and not the other? The only ones who are capable in aiding homeless people are millionaires but you can see what these millionaires do with their money.
  
  It's also ironic how I say only millionaires can help those in need. Good samaritans would help those in need but cannot because they need money, and they don't have money to help because they are constantly helping by giving money.
• MikeHo wrote on 2012-12-06 01:47
  I go with help when you can. What you did was good if they choose to abuse your kindness its there problem not yours. You can't help them all but if you can then do it. I really do not see a reason not to. Some people just need a little push or help.
  
  But it is reasonable to see why he would hide them. Living on the streets can be extremely dangerous.
• Cynic wrote on 2012-12-06 02:19

  Quote from radionoise;992768:

  Isn't his reason for not wearing the shoes valid? If that environment can be dangerous if you have something of value on you, I could understand why he would want to hide them.

  
  
  ^
  
  Contrary to popular belief, most homeless are not homeless by choice. That's just a dumb rumor to excuse apathy towards homeless people.
  So while there are certainly some who are just scumbags, the majority of homeless people are terribly misrepresented.
  
  As for the shoes themselves, territory and item disputes are huge issues among the homeless, so it's not at all surprising to see that he isn't keen on wearing them on te streets.
• Maenad wrote on 2012-12-06 02:36
  You must realize that in the type of life that homeless man lives, 100$ boots get you killed.
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2012-12-06 02:50
  I'm not saying that the guy in this article is in the wrong.
  
  I think you guys are COMPLETELY misunderstanding what I meant.
  
  I was referring more to the type of homeless people were saying in the bottom of the article zzzz. Let me clarify that in the OP so that all of you aren't jumping on my bloody back about it.
• Teemo wrote on 2012-12-06 03:19
  I wonder how much he got for the boots.
  I'm not saying he's lying, it's just A LOT are drug/alcohol addicts.
  
  He could be
  
  a) lying, sold the boots for money
  b) lying, because being barefoot makes it easier for him to rake in cash
  c) be telling the truth
  
  I remember there was a man with a sign that say
  "Any change will help, please, I'm hungry"
  So I bought him mcdonalds and he was like
  "I want money, not some greasy burger"
  
  There was once a guy on the boardwalk with a sign who said
  "I won't lie, I need a beer"
  and I gave him $10
  
  If you need money, for whatever reason, don't lie about it, and I have no problem helping you out.
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2012-12-06 03:23
  Even if someone was being honest, I wouldn't give them money just so they could throw it away for booze. It's none of my business what they do with money they receive but that doesn't mean I'm going to give it to them :/
  
  Then again if you willingly have a 20 minutes conversation of some sap story, I will sadly give you some cash just so you'll be happy...and quit pestering me >.<
  
  This has happened to me 3-4 times in this city in the past year in fact. Think I gave $10-$20 each time. You know what...I change my mind.
  
  I may as well give someone $10 if they are being honest rather than trying to bug me with a story that may or may not be true just to get some cash.
• RealityBreak wrote on 2012-12-06 04:33
  At first, I thought the thread said: "Homeless man grateful for boobs, but barefoot again."
  I'm worried.