Good samaritan Ricard Wright Stephen: Sometimes, it seems, people just don’t get what ‘doing the world good’ actually is. Thanks to Jan By Haley Ryan, Metro News tinyurl/m36ptbs A man believed to have handed out free cash across Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in Canada RM last week has been sent to a Charlottetown hospital for a mental-health assessment, say police. Sgt. Leanne Butler said Prince Edward Island RCMP received a call for a wellness check on the man, Richard Wright, last Thursday. Butler said the officers spotted Wright driving his car and stopped him. “The officers concluded that the gentleman should go to the hospital for further assessment by a medical health person,” she said. Butler said he was not arrested or charged because this is not a criminal act. On Sunday evening, Chelsey Wright posted a photo of her father on Facebook to call attention to what she says has been “unfair” treatment by the hospital and police. She said Wright was returning to P.E.I. after their family spent March Break in Halifax where he shared “some extra money” with needy people. She said her father had worked hard to save up the funds. Social media was buzzing about Wright’s assessment Monday, with many people calling for his release. A Facebook group was started Monday morning titled #OpFreeRichardWright, and now has over 1,200 members. Health P.E.I said in a release they cannot comment on specific patients or their care due to privacy reasons. “A patient is always admitted at the clinical recommendation of a physician who has met with and assessed the patient,” said the release. Pierre Bourdages, spokesman for Halifax Regional Police, said they received a report of suspicious activity in the Elmwood Street area of Dartmouth on March 18th, but he couldn’t say if the man was Wright. He said when police pulled over the vehicle, officers called the mental health crisis team for assistance, but after speaking with him they determined there was no cause for further action. “I can tell you this individual didn’t break any laws,” Bourdages said. Dozens of people in Dartmouth and Halifax reported getting $50 and $100 bills from Wright last week. He told them to “thank God” for the act of kindness and pass on the money if they didn’t need it. Jennifer Corbett received $150 when she met him in Dartmouth, but said his positive comments about how “things will get better” stuck with her more than the money. Corbett said she was excited when she saw the photo of Wright on Facebook because she never thought she would see him again. “I don’t think it’s fair that this happened,” Corbett said Monday morning. “I mean do you think that people are going to want to do good after this?” She said she called Wright in the mental-health ward of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday night to thank him and “give him back a little bit of what he gave me,” and he sounded in good spirits. “He was a good guy, and he did something good for a lot of people,” she said Bill MacNamara and June Bond with daughters Gabrielle (left) and Abigail (right) received two C$50 bills and two C4% coins. ‘Doing the World Good:’ Dozens Say They’ve Gotten Free Money from Mystery Man in Halifax By Haley Ryan, Metro News tinyurl/kgkso2e The mystery surrounding an unusually generous man in HRM continues to grow as dozens of people have now reported that he gave them a $50 or $100 bill, told them to “pay it forward,” and thank God for the act of kindness. He is often described as middle aged, wearing a red jacket, jeans and work boots with a beard, but Tina Gaetz of Dartmouth said he was clean-shaven. Some people received $50 bills and silver coins while others got $100 bills. “It was really weird. I didn’t know what to make of it,” Gaetz said about the night she met him on Pinecrest Drive and received $100. Gaetz said the man told her he had “the best job ever” but his legs were cramped from walking around the city. Jessica Bradstock-Young said via Twitter she saw him on a bus where he gave out six $100 bills and told people he lives in the woods. Bradstock-Young and a man who met him on Barrington Street said he talked about a movement coming to take the wealth from the “one percent” and distribute it to the people. Among the happy stories of people all over HRM getting unexpected kindness from the modern-day Robin Hood, many raised concerns over whether the man had mental-health issues and if people should be accepting the cash. Bev Cadham of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s local branch said the man approached two people affiliated with their program, and she doesn’t think he is experiencing mental illness. “He’s a generous individual and is wrapped up in the acts of kindness, and is wanting to help people,” Cadham said. June Bond got two $50 bills from the man on Tuesday morning and then passed the kind act along by paying for an older couple’s items at the Dollar Store. She also had her daughter Abigail take over $5 to a girl in the store with the same name. “He said if you don’t need it, pass it along. That sticks in the head,” Bond said. “I think he’s doing the world good. It opened my eyes.”
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:43:53 +0000
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