Student vows to help homeless man who offered her his last £3

After a homeless good Samaritan came to her aid, a 22-year-old student at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston has vowed to pay him back. Dominique Harrison-Bentzen from Leyland, Lancashire, lost her bank card while out in Preston city center but only realized when she went to get money for a taxi home. She said: “I suddenly realized that I had no money and a homeless man approached me with his only change of £3.

“He insisted I took it to pay for a taxi to make sure I got home safe.” Dominique, who is studying for her Masters degree in fashion, didn’t take the money but so touched was she by the man’s kind gesture that she has set herself a mission to help him. She said: “I ended up posting a status on Facebook to try and find him the next day and it turns out I’m not the only person he has helped.” Identified only as ‘Robbie’ the man appears to have come to the aid of many, returning wallets to pedestrians and offering his scarf to keep people warm.
And now, Dominique will spend 24 hours with Robbie on Tuesday to raise money to help him get back on his feet. Dominique said: “He has been homeless for seven months through no fault of his own and he can’t get work due to having no address. And I simply can’t just give him the money, I have to go through the right channels so I will be spending 24 hours through the day and night as a homeless person to understand the difficulties they face each day.
“If people can sponsor me £3 – as Robbie attempted to give me his only £3 – in the hope of collecting enough to get Robbie a flat deposit so that he can be safe and warm.” Already the fundraising has gathered pace and over £2,000 has so far been raised. “It’s just so overwhelming the response I’ve had,” said Dominique. “Everyone has been so supportive and I’d love to get as many people as possible out with me on Tuesday to show Robbie our support – be it for the full 24 hours or just one.”