By Jose Serrano (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jun 23, 2015 09:06 PM EDT

When a homeless man passing through a State College, Pennsylvania park found $400, his first instinct wasn't to spend his newfound funds.

Instead, the unnamed 32-year-old immediately contacted nearby Hearts for Homeless shelter who then tracked down the purse's owner; a single mother of one child struggling through a second episode of brain cancer.

"That broke me down a little bit, it broke me down a little bit," he told KDKA-TV Pittsburgh.

The homeless man was on his way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when he came upon the purse on a Sidney Friedman Park bench. Despite living on city streets for several weeks, and a passing temptation to keep the money and electronic benefits (EBT) card, he knew what the right choice was.

"I just though it wouldn't be any good on my conscience. Somebody might not have known, but I would have known. God would have known," he said.

According to Ashton Munoz, assistant director at the shelter, the woman lost her pocketbook after relaxing at the park. "She set it on a park bench and forgot it was there. When she went back several hours later it was gone," Munoz said. "She was pretty devastated."

Neither party wanted to be identified by name and requested their meetup be held off camera, but both said it was filled with hugs and thank yous. In part because of his heroic deed, the man has been moved off the streets and into a transitional apartment.

"I'm trying to be honorable to God. I've lived a life taking a lot," he said.

Watch the full KDKA-TV interview below.

© 2015 Latinos Post. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.