* Woman Talks To Homeless Man Every Day, But One Decision Changes His Life Forever
After seeing him in the same spot every single day, Brazilian woman Shalla Monteiro decided to start talking to an elderly man she noticed in the street. After they got acquainted, she learned that he had been homeless for over three decades.
And it was after some time she spent talking to him every day that she learned that the man had a secret passion, and that's when she realized she could actually change his life forever—in more ways than one.
Beneath the Trees
One day in 2011, Shalla Monterio, a graduate from the NYU Stern School of Business noticed something peculiar about the area she was walking in. Shalla passed this street frequently, but this time, she noticed something that caught her eye, and made her want to stop and investigate.
Image via Leo Schatzl/Facebook
Directly off the road there was a patch of grass where a man sat down beneath a tree. He was bent over and looked like he was in deep focus for some reason.
Scribbling Her Curiosity Away
Shalla’s curiosity awakened when she noticed that there was a man sitting on the side of the road. Surrounding him was a tent and some other items, which indicated that he was living there.
As she got closer, she could tell that the man looked a bit older, and looked like he was scribbling something down. Why exactly was he jotting down with such focus and intensity though?
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
The closer she got to him, the more eager she was to talk to him.
Seeing the Light in a Dark Situation
Whether it’s because you’re not sure how to treat them or because you’re nervous to offend them, it can be a little uncomfortable to approach someone who’s living on the street.
And it turns out that this particular homeless man was living in the same place, doing the same thing every single day. And yet, nobody ever really stopped by to talk to this elderly, homeless man.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
But Shalla looked passed that, and saw a gentleness to him, and was curious to find out what exactly was he doing with the pen and paper in his hands.
We’re All Only Human
Have you ever spoken to the person next to you on the plane or the bus, and discovered that there’s so much more to them than you ever would’ve expected? The stranger to your left might end up becoming one of the most inspiring people if you take a second to listen to their story.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
But Shalla loved connecting with people and hearing their stories. She’s the type of person that wasn’t afraid to get to know someone, no matter who they were.
Jumping into the Fog
Whether we are big-time celebs, average joes, or homeless people on the street, at the end of the day, we’re all humans. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to approach someone in an uncomfortable situation.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Shalla also had no idea how he would react to her coming up to him, but she figured she would try anyway. Yet after building the courage to talk to this man, she was left almost in tears by their interaction.
Homeless for Three Decades
Whether it’s a first date or your first day at a new job, it can be intimidating meeting someone for the first time. So, imagine how nerve-wracking it must’ve been for Shalla to approach this elderly man living on the street.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
However, she came with a light-hearted attitude and an open mind to learn about his story and understand what he was doing. The man’s name was Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho, and he had been homeless for over three decades now. But what she learned next was a true game changer.
The Backstory
On August 1, 1938, Raimundo was born in the rural area of Goiás, Brazil. When he was 23 years old, he left his hometown and traveled over 600 miles to São Paulo for work. The young man started out working as a gardener and a book seller.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
About 18 years later, unfortunately, Raimundo had become homeless. And ever since then, he sat in the same spot in São Paulo. But it wasn’t until 1996 that he would actually make it his “Island”.
Raimundo’s Island
Back in the ‘70s, when he was in his early 40s, Raimundo had sadly lost everything and had no other choice but to live on the street. Can you imagine how hard that must’ve been for him?
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
However, he was still able to find a little bit of light in this dark situation. His passion was writing, and he spent his time writing in the middle of a street nearby, which he called “The Island”. He continued this for almost 35 years, until he met Shalla.
“When I Saw Him for the First Time”
Amazingly enough, Raimundo was more than happy to talk to Shalla. He shared his story with her and explained that he enjoys writing, and that’s what he was doing there beneath the trees on The Island every single day.
“When I saw him for the first time, he gave me one of his poems. From that moment, he started to be a part of my life,” Shalla shared in a short documentary video titled The Conditioned.
Screenshot from "The Conditioned"
But it wouldn’t be until she actually read his work that she would realize that Raimundo’s hobby was so much more than that.
Artists Are Sensitive
Even though artists have the stereotypical reputation for having a big ego, they’re actually very sensitive and usually take their pieces of work to heart. And because of this, whether you're a painter, musician, or a writer, creatives can be quite secretive with showing their works of art to others.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Yet, Raimundo and Shalla seemed to have an instant connection that was so pure, that he felt like he could show her one of his poems. To her surprise, she instantly fell in love with his work, and realized that his writing was powerful and meaningful.
Every Single Word Was a Pleasure
The two started talking on a daily basis, and eventually Raimundo started to feel more comfortable with her, and showed her ever more pieces of his work that he had written. His poems brought her to tears, and she enjoyed reading every single word that was written on those ripped pieces of paper.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
It was then that she realized that this was more than a hobby for Raimundo, though. He actually always dreamt of publishing a book of his works, but clearly couldn’t because of his situation.
An Impossible Dream
Shalla was absolutely blown away by this sweet, intelligent, and talented elder man. The more she got to know him, and the more she read by him, she realized that wasn’t just a poet, he was a philosopher on top of that, as well. And the fact that he wanted to share his work with the world but couldn’t just broke her heart.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
“Raimundo always wanted to publish a book of his poems, and as a person who lived in the streets, [this] became an impossible dream … I felt I needed to do something,” Shalla emotionally expressed in the video.
The Newest Way to Share Info
Shalla was determined to help get Raimundo’s beautiful poetry out to the world and help him publish his work. But how was she going to do this?
Shalla didn’t work as a publisher, but she did have some experience with business and marketing. So, the entrepreneur did some thinking and realized that she can use one of the world’s newest ways to share things—social media.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Little did they both know just how influential this would be for the entire community.
A Wooden Stool and Plastic Black Bags
You would think that being homeless would leave you hopeless, but Raimundo proved to Shalla that the two were not interchangeable. Shalla opened up both a Facebook page and a blog in his honor. She explained his story and uploaded his poems, so that people would understand just how inspiring and powerful this man truly was.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
“Sitting on a wooden stool, dressed in black plastic bags, he spent his time writing on ‘small pieces of paper’, delicately cut to the same size. All … are signed as ‘The Conditioned’,” Shalla wrote on The Conditioned’s official blog.
Ocondicionado
The 74-year-old man had lived alone alongside a construction site for 19 years, but his world was about to turn upside down. In the early 2010s, Shalla opened up a blog and Facebook Page for Raimundo’s works. The pages were titled Ocondicionado (The Conditioned), the pen name that Raimundo used for signing all of his works.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
She uploaded his poems to the page, and it became successful in ways they never would’ve expected. Not only were people liking and following the page, but they started to reach out to Raimundo, himself.
Timing is Everything
What’s amazing is that if Shalla had met Raimundo even five years earlier, she probably wouldn’t have been able to help Raimundo. But because of the development of social media and the access to communication throughout the world, Raimundo’s dream was slowly becoming true. Talk about the right place and the right time!
Image by ROBIN WORRALL/Unsplash
Can you imagine what the talented man must’ve felt at this point? But what happened next was really about to shock everyone.
Inspiring Others with His Words
At this point, Shalla and Raimundo had befriended each other. Shalla would come visit him almost daily and enjoyed exchanging words with him and reading something new he shared with her.
And after opening the Facebook page, so many people were just as touched as she was. But it turns out that people weren’t just inspired by Raimundo’s beautiful and poetic words, they were just as curious as Shalla was about him as a person.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
That’s when the two of them really started to see how much the posts and uploads were affecting the community around them.
“I Always Wanted to Know”
After Raimundo’s social media accounts were getting more and more traction, he also started to get more visitors in person. His poetry moved and inspired people so much, that they actually decided to approach him in person on The Island.
Screenshot from "The Conditioned"
Shalla mentioned in the video, “People started to get close to him … To talk to him, to go there, just say, ‘Hey, I saw you. I want to know you. I always wanted to know, but I didn’t have the courage to come and talk.’” How heart-warming!
Setting Goals and Dreams Are Important
It’s always hard to actually plan out your life, since life always seems to have a plan of its own, with challenges that you can’t always prepare for. However, having goals and dreams is something that's crucial and can give you a positive light and purpose to keep on going.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
Raimundo felt like his dream was impossible to achieve, and yet, he never stopped writing. And before he knew it, his dreams were happening in ways that he never could’ve planned or predicted. But there was still one more surprise to this wonderful story.
“Hope is the Heaviest Weight”
As we mentioned, the gentle, sweet elder man’s words were powerful and heavy, yet inspiring and beautiful. There’s no doubt that he had been through a lot, and being in his 70s meant that he sure had a lot of wisdom, whether he had a home or not.
While he was living on The Island in São Paulo, Brazil, Raimundo wrote something very special in 2012 after meeting Shalla.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
“Hope is the heaviest weight a man can carry. It is the bane of the idealist. – The Conditioned.”
Making His Dream Come True
It wasn’t necessarily a published book, but Shalla was able to “publish” Raimundo's works so that the world could experience his beautiful poetry. And because of that, and the fact that Shalla’s connection with him was just as touching, others were inspired to interact with Raimundo too.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Many people started to come by and talk to him, but there was one special person that had been waiting to talk to Raimundo for many years. And thanks to Shalla, this person finally had the chance to meet him.
A Message from a Mystery Man
Shalla was happy to help Raimundo, and was over the moon by the fact she could manage a Facebook page for him. She would receive messages all the time from fans from all around who admired and appreciated his work.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
However, one day, Shalla received a message from someone unbelievable. Why exactly? Because that person was someone from Raimundo’s past. Shalla stated in the video that while she was checking the page’s inbox one day, she “got a message from his brother.” Can you believe it?
Finding a Long-Lost Brother
Soon after creating the Facebook page, Shalla received a Facebook message from someone she never would’ve expected—one of Raimundo’s long-lost brothers. It turns out that Raimundo hadn’t been in touch with his family all these years, which is probably why he had been alone and homeless this whole time too.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Can you imagine how emotional this must have been for them all? After reaching out to Shalla, Raimundo’s brother asked if it would be possible to meet with him, and of course they arranged it!
Reuniting the Family
Who would’ve thought that all of this would’ve happened? Raimundo was a man living alone on the streets for almost two decades before someone was able to help him in ways that he didn’t even know were possible.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Not only did she help him share his work with the world, but it turns out she helped him reunite him with his family. But how exactly did the reunion go? Surely this would be an incredibly emotional situation for all parties.
“A Man in the Midst of Garbage”
Can you picture finding your long-lost brother after all these years via a Facebook page? This is definitely social media at its best. Still though, there’s no way to really explain what the two were about to experience upon their reunion. And there was also slight hesitation that they weren’t actually brothers—after all, it’s hard to know until you meet in person.
Screenshot from "The Conditioned"
Raimundo’s brother emotionally confessed during his video interview, “After 57 years, I was able to find [my brother]. When I arrived at the Island, I found a man, in the midst of garbage, hairy and unshaved, with no hygiene whatsoever, knowing that this person was my brother.”
When Worlds Collide
Nobody can really predict what will happen when you meet someone for the first time—just like when Shalla approached Raimundo for the first time. But one thing was for sure, and that’s the two of them were overwhelmed with joy to finally see one another.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
Amazingly enough, the reunion was full of emotions and waterworks. The two were so touched to finally be together again, and were in shock about the whole thing. But what was going to happen between the two of them now?
A True Happy Ending
After the two had reunited, his brother wanted to help him in any way that he could, similar to how Shalla did.
Raimundo’s brother further explained, “I suggested that [Raimundo] come live with me. My brothers are still alive. They’re all alive. He was the one missing to complete the emptiness we had.” How heartwarming is that? Talk about a true happy-ending to such an intense and heart-breaking story!
Screenshot from "The Conditioned"
And this inspiring story gets even better than this.
“He is an Integral Part”
As soon as he accepted his brother’s invitation to come live with him, he got him new clothes, shaved, and a snazzy new haircut. For the first time in 35 years, Raimundo was all cleaned up and was finally reunited with his family again.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
But what was it like for him to see his family to see him after so long? And what was the transition like for them all? “He is not a guest. He is part of the family, with my children and my wife. He is an integral part,” Raimundo’s brother emotionally expressed.
Shalla and Raimundo
In 2011, Shalla and Raimundo befriended each other and remained best friends until the day that he passed in 2020. In 2012, Shalla opened the talented poet a Facebook page and went viral. Through that his brother found him and the two reconnected after thinking they had lost each other forever.
Image via Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho/Facebook
And then in 2015, they were all able to make Raimundo’s one big dream come true. He successfully wrote and published a book of his writings. How amazing is that?
From Rags to Riches
With all of the beautiful and philosophical poems and words of wisdom that the sensitive, sweet, and intelligent Raimundo has written, the most inspiring story is his own.
From rags to riches, at the end of it all, he received so much love and joy in his life—and it was all thanks to the big-hearted, inspiring, and loving Shalla.
Image via Shalla Monteiro/Facebook
Without her curiosity and open heart, none of this would’ve been possible.
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