"I'm just a simple person."
That was the response from a man being praised for withdrawing enough money from an ATM to allow a homeless stranger to buy herself a plane ticket home to her family in New Zealand.
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Random act of kindness for flights back home
A man withdraws money for a homeless woman who is trying to get back to New Zealand.
Footage of the random act of kindness, which occurred in Northbridge on Saturday night, has been watched more than 20,000 times since homeless advocate, Siham Carollisen, uploaded the video to her Brothers & Sisters Perth Facebook page.
"Tonight on our weekly run through Perth, we were sat with our homeless friend Jess," Ms Carollisen posted.
"We had seen her before in the inner part of Perth and were surprised to see her in Northbridge.... it turned out, Jess is on a mission.
"Having recently reconnected with her family back home after being estranged for a long time, she has decided it is time to return to New Zealand.
"She was out in the streets of Perth, begging in the hopes of raising money."
Ms Carollisen went on to explain that because Jess was not an Australian resident, she was not eligible for any government support, and was sleeping rough.
But her luck quickly changed thanks to the intervention of a stranger, who happened to pass Jess while she was sitting chatting with Ms Carollisen (who regularly patrols the streets, feeding and supporting the homeless).
"He asked why she was there, why we were with her and what we get out of it," Ms Carollisen said.
"As Jess told him stories of the reality of living on the streets it was clear he was affected.Â
"He listened, and without another word, held out his hand and said 'Come with me, I'll sort you out.'"
He led Jess to an ATM, and that's when Ms Carollisen began filming.
"We're just standing at the ANZ on James Street right now, this is our homeless friend Jess - a kind stranger has just gone to the ATM to withdraw funds," she is heard saying in the video.
"This man has just given Jess an airfare to return back to her family."
Handing over a wad of $50 notes, the man, understood to be Daniel Roose, hugged the woman and told her "you're a good person, go home", before slipping away into the night.
Jess thanked and blessed the man, while Ms Carollisen can be heard saying "we need more people like you in this world mate, you're an absolute legend".
Mr Roose simply replied, "Don't God bless me, it's not God bless you... I'm just a simple person."
Social commentators were quick to praise Mr Roose's selfless act, saying "what a man" and "he was for that moment her angel" while others suggested "wait till he sobers up and checks his bank balance".Â
Mr Roose, however, seemed to have no regrets, telling WAtoday he hoped his generous act would give Jess hope.Â
"I think a lot of people have this thing in their head that people who are homeless are lazy. I don't think people understand how many issues they have," he said.Â
"It's easy to judge people from afar - but if that was that easy, people wouldn't be there.
"All I had to do is walk to a teller machine and back... everyone can dig deep, or do something small, to help someone out."Â
WAtoday has been unable to verify if a plane ticket was bought with the donated money.
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