Small act – returning a lost wallet – a large step for Spokane teenager

When Tremaine Reed saw the wallet on the side of the road, he knew he had to find its owner.

“I just felt obliged,” Reed said. “You need this back.”

Although Reed’s decision seemed simple, it was a decisive indication of how much the 18-year-old has changed.

“That shocked me when he was like, ‘Bro, I found a wallet and gave it back,’ ” said Cory Huska, Reed’s longtime friend. “That’s when I knew … he’s really trying. It pushes me to want to do better.”

Reed was born in Spokane, although he moved often when he was young. One day in third grade, Reed came home from school and found that his mother, sister and brother had left him, he said. He spent several hours wandering the streets until his father, who also lived in Spokane, found him. From then on Reed lived with his dad, who he said is a drug addict.

Reed stopped going to school in the seventh grade and spent much of his life since he was 11 in juvenile detention – twice for residential burglary and once for possession of a stolen vehicle. He has dealt drugs, used drugs and was shot in the right leg during a drive-by shooting, he said.

“We were both dealt nasty cards,” Huska said. “Trey is actually the reason I’m kind of floating. Whenever I’m in darkness he is the one to really shed light.”

Kelsey Parker, the woman who lost her wallet, works to help people like Reed and Huska. Parker is the executive director of The First Tee of the Inland Northwest, a nonprofit that uses golf to teach young people life values.

“It’s kind of funny, what I’ve dedicated my career to and this is a living example of that,” she said.

On Feb. 5, Parker took her son to school. As soon as she’d dropped him off, she realized she didn’t have her wallet. She searched her car, then her house, with no success. So she went to her bank to cancel her cards. That’s when she got a call from Reed.

Reed and his girlfriend, Christina Casserino, were driving on Freya Street when they saw the wallet near 42nd Avenue. Casserino pointed it out and Reed asked her to turn around. Casserino said for a moment she considered taking the wallet, but then they both decided against it.

Reed took Parker’s wallet to the Next Generation Zone, where he is studying for his GED. He searched for her name on Google and contacted her. The trio met later that day. Parker said she had several credit cards and receipts in her wallet, and nothing was missing. She gave Reed $40, which Reed and Casserino used to go out for dinner at Golden Corral. Parker believes she placed her wallet on the hood of her car after she’d dropped her son off.

“It’s simple but it’s a good stepping stone,” Reed said. “I kind of felt majorly good about it.”

Reed is scheduled to get his GED in June. After that he hopes to save some money and then attend Spokane Falls Community College.

Although Parker was thrilled to have her wallet returned, she sees a bigger message behind Reed’s act.

“It’s so important to give back to your community,” she said. “It will come back to serve you.”