School Bus Samaritan: Strangers Helping Strangers In West Orange

West Orange, NJ – It can be tough to be the mother of a special needs child.

But one West Orange parent recently found out that she’s not the only one looking out for her son.

On Wednesday, the West Orange Public School District shared an inspiring social media exchange between the mother of a local special needs student and a well-meaning stranger.

The mother – whose son was aboard a school bus with other high school students – had written a post on Facebook asking the community and school officials to help her connect with her child.

A community member – a stranger named “Justin” who happened to be in front of her son’s bus at the time – replied to her message, taking the time out of his day to help her son connect with his aide.

“I could hug you right now, Justin… Whoever you are!” the grateful mother replied after the incident. “Hopefully we will meet one day.”

“It was an honor to help your son,” the good Samaritan replied. “I enjoy helping whenever I can.”

The social media exchange, which can be seen online here, inspired several positive comments from community members.

“I don’t know you and I love you,” one commenter wrote. “It’s people like you who can restore the faith we have in each other. Once again, may the world figure out what our children already know.”

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