Peterson Christophe didn't fully understand how he ended up without a parent or a home two months after arriving to the United States from Haiti.

``It all happened so fast,'' he said.

One year later, after bouncing around from house to house with no stability, Christophe, 18, is rebuilding his life with the help of kind strangers.

This past summer, while walking around in Miami Gardens looking for a job, Christophe met Hanson Raymore.

A school crossing guard and October's employee of the month for the city, Raymore said, ``During my shift I saw him walking by and something told me to speak with him. I'm not afraid to say that when he told me his story I cried.''

Since then, Raymore has made it his personal mission to assure Christophe has a steady home and regular doctor check-ups to diagnose a condition that makes his body convulse when he speaks.

In April 2008, Christophe's father, Jackye Christophe, sent for him from Haiti to West Palm Beach to provide a better future for a teenage son growing up in the rough streets of Port-au-Prince.

``It wasn't easy you know, Haiti is not very stable at times and safety is a big problem over there.'' Christophe said.

When he arrived in the United States, Christophe hoped he would enroll in high school in West Palm Beach to further his education. That did not happen.

According to Christophe, shortly after his arrival, his stepmother and father returned to Haiti for unknown reasons. When his stepmother returned about two months later without his father, she told him he died. And then, she asked him to leave their West Palm Beach home, he said.

That same day, Christophe packed one suitcase with the few clothes he owned and spent the next eight months bouncing from house to house with friends -- and friends of friends -- from West Palm Beach and eventually to Miami Gardens.

When he'd get a chance, he called Haiti to get more details on his father's death, but he received very little information.

``He had nobody to take care of him and he appears to have some sort of illness. We are all our brother's keeper, that's what we're put on earth for'' Raymore said.

Raymore, a native of Jamaica, said Christophe's story is a familiar one of children growing up in the Caribbean who lose their parents and are eventually abandoned by family or friends because of the financial responsibility.

Christophe now lives in Miami Gardens with Janet Hall, a friend of Raymore's who volunteered to take him in after hearing of the efforts to find him a permanent home.

``He is essentially my kid now,'' she said.

Hall, a mother of one and a housekeeper, said despite her meager finances she accepted Christophe into her home providing him with his own room, clothes, food and paying for his doctor visits.

``He really needs care and attention, we're trying our best to do whatever we can,'' she said.

Her 10-year-old son, Joshua Weisberg, is a fan of Christophe's who regularly joins him in a game of football or video games.

``God knows what he was doing when he put this kid in my life, he's like a big brother to my son now. I remember my own background, my mom died when I was 10, it's not so easy,'' she said.

Raymore frequents the home after his shift as a crossing guard, eating dinner and catching up with Christophe's progress.

Christophe hopes to eventually receive his high school diploma and attend a local college where he plans to study computer engineering, but first he is awaiting results from a series of tests that will possibly diagnose his physical ailment.

In the meantime, he said he is grateful for two strangers who stepped in to fill the void of mom and dad.

``It's like I have a real family again,'' he said.

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