Homeless man reunites with his family for the first time in 40 years

[Image via YouTube/Miracle Messages]

Social media is often criticized, but it can be an incredible thing.

A homeless man in Miami used its power to reunite with his family, who he hasn’t seen in 40 years.

Isaac Avila, better known as Chico, has spent the past 10 years living on the streets of Miami, just blocks away from the Miami Herald, where he used to work as a printer, reports WSVN.

Every Tuesday, Chico would visit a local performing arts space for food given out by volunteers. That’s where he met Gaby.

She volunteers with Miracle Messages, an organization that helps the homeless reconnect with their loved ones by recording short videos to send to them through social media. The group gave Chico his spotlight and a microphone.

Chico starts the clip by introducing himself in Spanish and then saying, “I miss you all very much.”

“I know it’s been a long, long, long, long time,” he says in the minute long video, which you can watch above, “but I still remember y’all as y’all were when y’all were young.”

Although he says he’s “still doing pretty good,” he says he still hopes to see his family “pretty soon.”

After just 985 views, his Avila’s family was found.

His mother had to get his message translated by one of her children into Spanish. She “kept asking to reply and she kept kissing the screen,” Gaby writes on the Miracle Messages Facebook page.

Avila’s sister Lupe, who was preparing to come pick up him up, heard his voice for the first time in 40 years.

“It’s awesome,” she says of the encounter.

Avila droke down in tears due to the events of the day.

“They are my heroes now,” he said, speaking of Miracle Messages. “They are my people now, my saints.”