Homeless Woman Returns Purse With $800 Cash Inside

Local 6
Aug. 24, 2005

A homeless woman living at a Salvation Army shelter in Tampa with her five children found and returned a purse containing $800 in cash and two paychecks, according to a report.

Canesha Blackman, 24, was on her way to the Polk County Government Center for a bus pass when she found the purse in the parking lot. But instead of keeping the cash, she turned the purse into a worker inside the building.

"People ask me, 'What were you thinking?'" Blackman said. "If it was my money, I would be crying if I didn't get it back,"

Sandy Scherer said she was surprised to hear that the person who turned in her purse at the front desk of Polk Public Works was a homeless woman.

The sheriff's deputy tracked down Blackman and offered her a reward for the good deed, according to the report.

"It still is hard," Blackman said. "I still don't have anything, but I still have my kids, so that's the main thing."

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.