Food pantry volunteer spent nights lying by her husband's grave after losing their new home. One police officer refused to look away

On December 13, 2025, Syracuse was covered in snow, with temperatures dropping below one degree Fahrenheit. 55-year-old Rhea Holmes was walking through a park with a box of food balanced on her head. She was on her way to the cemetery, where she had been living since losing her husband and becoming homeless. At the same time, Syracuse police officer James Pastorello was finishing paperwork in his patrol car when he noticed Holmes struggling to make her way up a hill, stopping several times to rest. He offered her a ride, a ride that transformed Rhea’s life, as reported on Jan 24 by CBS News.

Sleeping with the dead

In 2020, Rhea and her husband, Eddie Holmes, were happily married for 26 years and were planning to buy a house in Syracuse, as per Syracuse.com. But on the same day as the offer was accepted, Eddie died of a heart attack. His death jolted Rhea into depression; she lost her job and was evicted from her house. Too entrenched in the grief of loss, Rhea thought the only place she could think of to sleep was in the cemetery, on a bench next to Eddie’s grave. So she spent the money they were going to use to buy the house on purchasing a burial plot at Oakwood Cemetery.

By day, she would volunteer at the nearby food pantry, relying on the university and campus bathrooms. By night, she would sleep under the stars, along with the dead. She didn’t look for shelter because of suspicions that they housed people involved in drugs, violence, or abuse. She didn’t even ask anyone for help because she didn’t want people to worry. "I assumed that I was going to die there," she thought, until Officer Pastorello re-entered her life.

Life-changing act of kindness

When the word broke out that Rhea was living in the cemetery, Pastorello recognized her from the ride he gave her. When she unveiled her whole story, he was left shocked. Her homelessness hit him. “Rhea, you’re not going to sleep outside again. I’m not going to let that happen,” he told her, per TODAY. At first, he purchased a hotel room for her and then connected with his community to look for a house. A friend connected him to the president of Le Moyne College, Linda LeMura, who offered Rhea a temporary house on the college campus.

Mosaic of helping hands

Meanwhile, Pastorello created a GoFundMe page to raise funds that Rhea could use to live a comfortable life. Till now, the campaign has raised $88,938 (89%) of the total $100,000. “I am completely blown away by the support Rhea has received from all over the world,” Pastorello wrote in an update on the page. The Syracuse Police Department also shared the story in a Facebook post praising the commendable act by Officer Pastorello.

Homeless across the US

Rhea's experience highlights the struggles thousands of people across the US continue to face every day. According to a 2025 survey by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, homelessness in America increased by 18% from 653,104 people in 2023 to 771,480 people in 2024. In accordance with the rising homelessness, homeless response workers, like Officer Pastorello, served more than 1.1 million people in need, a 12% increase from 2023.

An angel in disguise

On January 5, Rhea moved into a one-bedroom, 300-square-foot house. In the meantime, Le Moyne University’s non-profit “A Tiny Home for Good” provided her mental support and aided her in processing her grief. “I wasn’t thinking past getting through the day before. Now I can,” Rhea told Syracuse.com. To Rhea, this feels like a new beginning. Referring to Pastorello as her “angel,” she said he was godsent, and he guided her at a time when she needed him the most. “So many people feel invisible,” Rhea reflected. “All it took was one person stopping to care.”

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