Sheriff's Deputy Swallwell was going about his business when he got word that a homeless man was panhandling on the freeway off-ramp. He went out to go give him a citation, but when he spoke the man he had a change of heart.

Michael Myers was greeted by the officer and said that he told him, "you can't be on this freeway anymore and I'm going to write you a ticket." But as they started to speak, Deputy Swallwell realized that a ticket wasn't going to help anything.

"I started to get to know more about him and I realized he didn't need a citation, he needed someone to help him," Swalwell said. Myers was unlike other panhandlers he had met. He had no criminal record, no substance abuse issues and he had tried several times to get off the streets.

"He told me, 'no you don't understand. I've done it before. I get turned away. I've applied for benefits before, but I don't have ID so I can't get any assistance.'" Swalwell explained. It was at this point that he decided he was going to do more than just let him off with a warning, he was going to do everything he could to help him get his life back on track...

The first step that Deputy Swallwell took was help Myers get an ID. To do that, he needed to obtain his birth certificate which he had never seen. They were able to obtain it, but it provided its own shocking realizations.

"I thought I was born Michael Myers, but according to my birth certificate, my name is Gordon Myers," Myers revealed.

In order to obtain an ID, he had to prove he was a resident in California, but this was impossible given the fact that he was homeless. Together the sheriff's department and a local church were able to provide enough documentation for Myers that after four trips to the DMV over a month and a half, he was finally able to get an ID.

Deputy Swallwell said, "if it's something as simple as helping them just to get them back on their feet by getting them an ID so they can get some state or government, federal benefits, then it's the least we can be doing as law enforcement officers."

Myers is happy to have gotten help from the officer, and admitted that it was incredibly unexpected.  "We both realized at the same time that there is a real person there and not just the stereotype we saw when we first met each other" Myers said.

After dealing with this situation and realizing that it was so difficult for homeless people to obtain an ID, the Sheriff's Department has started to work with local lawmakers and the DMV to try to make it easier. That way more people like Myers will get a second chance, and will be able to get a job and an apartment.