Man calls the police because he "had a bad day" and he is lonely: an officer cooks him dinner and chats with him

We all have our bad days and can become disheartened by certain situations that arise in our lives: feeling a little down in the dumps, or not knowing how to deal with sadness, is completely normal. Everyone faces their difficulties differently and tackles them as they see fit. In addition to asking for help from others, we can learn to act when we feel capable of doing so - just like police officer Brooks, the subject of this story.

via Facebook / Middletown Police Department Connecticut

When a call from a man requesting law enforcement assistance was answered at the police station, Officer Andrew Brooks responded. Each call is different, so officer Brooks went to the man's home to enquire how he could help him. Arriving at the man's home, the policeman realized the reason for the call: the man in question felt lonely, he had had a bad day and he was hungry but was too depressed to cook. In short, the man was having one of the worst days of his life and he had no one to talk to. Understanding the problem, officer Brooks decided to act.

The officer decided to make a hot meal for his new friend, determined to make him feel better. Opening the fridge Brooks noticed that food in the man's house was in short supply, but he still managed to cook something for the man: scrambled eggs and a cheese sandwich. On top of that, officer Brooks chatted with the man for quite some time, realizing that what the poor fellow really needed at that moment was someone to listen to him.

"Sometimes a hot meal and someone to talk to is all it takes to lift someone's spirits and change their perception of things," the Middletown - Connecticut Police Department wrote on their Facebook post. The post reached thousands of readers and was flooded with hundreds of user comments congratulating officer Brooks for his actions. One of the comments reads:

"Sometimes, all you need is the compassionate kindness of another human being. Thank you, officer Brooks, for determining what this man needed and providing it so kindly. I honestly have never come across this level of understanding from law enforcement before."

When we run into situations like this, we should try to be a bit like officer Brooks: kind and empathetic towards someone who is perhaps having a bad time.