NJ Transit Police Reunite Homeless Man with his Daughters after 20 years

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Secaucus NJ, according to NJ transit Police they hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years until an amazing, heartwarming reunion at a NJ Transit police station.

Jose Lopez received more assistance than he could’ve ever imagined when he accepted help from the New Jersey Transit Police Crisis Outreach Program. Mr. Lopez, a former Long Branch resident made his way to New Jersey from Miami and was recently discovered in Secaucus Junction Station. Homeless and in need of assistance, he was introduced to New Jersey Transit Police Crisis Outreach Officer Sean Pfeifer.

While assisting Mr. Lopez, Officer Pfeifer learned that Jose desired to see his two daughters but hadn’t seen or spoken with family in over two decades. His only possible point of contact, a family friend, had passed away and he had no means of reaching his daughters.

Officer Pfeifer began searching the white pages via the internet and began calling dozens and dozens of phone numbers in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the family. Instead of giving up, Officer Pfeifer took it upon himself to sign up for membership to access a White Pages Premium account. This gave him even more phone numbers to reach out to mobile users. Officer Pfeifer called and left messages on the additional phone numbers in an attempt to locate the family. Fortunately, one of the phone numbers Officer Pfeifer contacted belonged to one of Mr. Lopez’s daughters! She said she lost contact with her father and was amazed to hear that he was located. She was excited and eager to see him.

With Mr. Lopez’s daughter traveling to reunite, it was time for a makeover. Officer Pfeifer provided Mr. Lopez with a brand new pair of suit pants that were donated to the Outreach Program and bought him a new button down shirt and socks. Officer Pfeifer began contacting some of the outreach partner programs to find a barber in the area to help him with a haircut. The MHA PATH Program, connected Officer Pfeifer with a certified barber staying in a nearby shelter who had his own tools. Officer Pfeifer drove to the shelter and brought the generous barber to Newark Penn Station. The barber gave Mr. Lopez a fresh haircut and a clean shave right in the NJTPD Outreach Office. With the makeover complete, Mr. Lopez was ready to reunite with his family.