Image copyright James Minns Image caption Businessman James Minns offered Ryan Davidson a job after talking to him on a Newcastle street
This picture captures the moment a homeless man arrived for his first day of work, after being offered a permanent job by a businessman he had asked for "spare change" on a Newcastle street.
Posted on Facebook on Thursday, a photo of their first encounter has been shared more than 4,000 times and prompted 11,000 interactions.
Ryan Davidson, 25, has been looking for permanent housing for two years. He told BBC News he now had hope for the future.
"James was walking past me, so I asked him for spare change," he said.
"He stopped and seemed like a genuine, nice guy.
"We chatted for a while and then he said he had a company and could offer me a job - I couldn't believe it."
James Minns, who owns a paint-coating company in the city, had been enjoying a meal to celebrate his wedding anniversary, with his wife and two friends, moments earlier.
"I saw Ryan's big smile and we started talking," James told BBC News.
"If you were offered a job, would you take it?" James asked. "100%," replied Ryan.
James told Ryan where his factory was and they shook hands on the job offer, with Ryan promising to turn up for work on the factory floor.
But what James thought was an innocent Facebook post about the encounter soon began gathering pace.
"I logged into my Facebook on Friday and there were hundreds of notifications and thousands of friend requests - I couldn't believe it," James told BBC News.
"Fingers crossed he takes the opportunity," posted one Facebook user. Another post read: "Our county needs more companies like you to believe in these people."
One of the people who responded to James after seeing the post was Ryan's aunt. And she was able to provide a mobile phone number on which he could be contacted.
James rang Ryan on Friday to confirm his start time on Monday.
And his optimism increased when Ian Cutts, a local milkman, who had also seen the Facebook post, offered to collect Ryan for his first day and give him a lift to the factory.
By Sunday, however, Ryan had stopped answering his phone. And, at 06:30 on Monday, when Ian arrived at the meeting point they had agreed, there was no sign of Ryan.
James alerted his growing band of Facebook followers, telling them: "Morning everyone, unfortunately Ryan didn't show up. Ian Erniethemilkman Cutts was there at 6.30am to pick him up. Waited 30 mins and he didn't show. I've rang him several times and got no answer too. Totally gutted tbh."
And the news provoked a downturn in mood on the social network.
"Such a shame" read one Facebook post.
However, the story does have a happy ending.
Ryan had had to attend an emergency housing appointment on Monday morning and had been unable to let James know as his phone had run out of credit.
But he turned up for work bright and early the next day and, he told BBC News, his first day on the job could not have gone better.
"I am so grateful to James," he said. "I love my job and everybody has made me feel so welcome. We're like one big happy family."
James told BBC News the social media reaction to his Facebook posts had prompted so many other offers of help for Ryan and "messages from people who want to see him do well" he had now set up fundraising web page for him
"We are going to use the proceeds to find Ryan permanent housing," he added.
And Ryan told BBC News he had been simply overwhelmed by the response.
"It has opened my eyes to how generous and kind people can be," he said.
"I've never met anyone like James - he has changed my life completely."
badthingscome on July 11st, 2018 at 17:14 UTC »
Our homelessness problem in the US is not a problem of having enough homes, or even of rent being too expensive (although that is the case, too.) Low wages and economic insecurity coupled with poor worker rights do make some people just say "fuck it" and drop out, but beyond that we have mental health epidemic in this country that is coupled with and fueled by high rates of substance abuse and addiction. The majority of homeless that I see day to day in Southern California seem to fall into that category (in my admittedly non-expert opinion.) We could give them an apartment and free rent for a year and I think a majority of them would be back on the street at the end of that year, or sooner.
________76________ on July 11st, 2018 at 15:16 UTC »
Coming from a background in both mental health and homeless outreach, there is a reason this guy was unable to find work for 3 years. Hopefully they're able to help him find a way to attend to those needs.
Giving someone a haircut or a job is a kind gesture but often not enough for a lot of people experiencing homelessness to remain off the streets.
edit: because some people are mentioning the 'leg-up' factor. It is certainly a possibility since the article doesn't really specify his situation, that all he needed was an opportunity to regain his footing and he'll be good to go after this. Poverty and homelessness in general can be highly stressful to the point that day to day life becomes overwhelmed with survival matters, leaving less time and energy to devote to finding work, mental health resources, etc. So these things aren't necessarily mutually-exclusive.
ffxivthrowaway03 on July 11st, 2018 at 14:50 UTC »
Certainly hope it works out for this kid, so many of these "I gave a homeless guy a job" stories end up six months later with them back in the gutter due to never addressing what their underlying issue that led to their homelessness was (usually drugs, mental health issues, etc). The article unfortunately doesn't include any information on why Ryan was homeless in the first place.