Officer Acerra responded to a distress call from a 13-year-old boy who didn’t want to live at his home anymore. What transpired when the officer decided to take time to listen to the boy’s problems is a heart warming story of human kindness.
From time to time, everyone needs a bit help from someone. Sometimes we turn to our family for help. Other times, our friends. However, some people feel as if they have no one to reach out to. One officer got a distress call from a 13-year-old boy who didn’t want to live at his home anymore. When the officer responded, he decided to do something different. He sat down and listened. He let the boy know he was there to help and gave him his personal number if he needed any help in the future. Then the boy took the officer inside his home. The boy recently had a fight with his mom, who was disciplining him for playing with his brother’s video games.
When Acerra sat down with the boy, he realized that the issues at home ran much deeper than this one fight.
When the teen confessed that he didn’t want to live at home anymore. Officer Acerra convinced him that he has a good roof over his head,and that he would try to help the boy in any way that he could.
He took the teen back to his home and was asked to come inside. He didn’t hesitate. Whatever was behind the closed doors, it was his duty to check.
When he entered the teen’s room, he understood the problem.
The boy barely had anything in his room… not even a bed. “My heart went out for him,” Acerra said.
He immediately began to think about all the little things he could do to contribute to this teen’s life to make it just a little better and comfortable. It was quite evident that his family had fallen on hard times.
Officer Acerra returned to the scene with a bed, chair, desk, TV, donated Wii games, and more.
The teen was overwhelmed with happiness. He told his new crime-fighter friend, “Now my back won’t be hurting when I sleep.”
This gift is definitely above and beyond the call of duty. Officer Acerra became an everyday hero to this teen.
Officer Acerra got a lot of praise for this act of kindness, but says he didn’t do it all for all the attention and publicity.
He did it because he really, truly cared. These are the kind of officers that make the communities feel safer and cared for we need more officer’s like Acerra to make this world a better place.
“I did this because I could afford to do it and also, it was the right thing to do.”
It sure was… and now this teen knows who to call in case any other issues need resolved.
