When one woman received support and love from a complete stranger, it not only helped her turn her life around, but gave her purpose and a want to help others as well.

Stephanie Bowman found herself a desperate mother, homeless and addicted to drugs.

Needing food, she placed her 5 year old daughter into a dumpster to find edible garbage for them to eat.

When a woman nearby witnessed this, she yelled at Stephanie to get that little girl out of the dumpster.

Stephanie was scared she was in trouble and that the woman would call police, but that’s not what happened at all.

That woman, the stranger who happened upon Stephanie and her daughter, owned a restaurant and said, “You’ll never put your kid in a dumpster again. I’ll make sure we have something here every day . . .”  — and she did!

Stephanie shared, “She had food for us behind her restaurant whenever we needed it. I knew that was the purest sign that somebody loved us. Someone who didn’t even know us.”

After hitting rock bottom, where her kids were placed in foster care, Stephanie turned her life around and has been sober since 1999.

Following her sobriety, Stephanie wanted to help others, and founded One Heart for Women and Children, an Orlando, Florida based non-profit that is dedicated to serving families in her community who are struggling.

Cut to present day, and One Heart for Women and Children now serves over 3,000 people every month. They provide essentials like clothing and hygienic items, as well as educational classes.

Of the “no strings attached” non-profit, Stephanie shares, “We’re here to help anyone who needs the help. There is no shame, no judgment. We celebrate when people get to One Heart . . . And then it’s, ‘How can we help you get to that next place?’ Everybody’s time of transition looks different.”

(MSN)