When Devin Allen got an email saying a woman he had never met had named him in her will, he was sure it was a scam. The Baltimore photographer soon learned it was real.

Tamara Baran lived more than 1,000 miles away. Her partner, relatives and lawyer reached out to explain the bequest. Allen says the two had never crossed paths and he first assumed the message was fake before realizing it was genuine.

Baran first saw Allen's photos on Instagram in 2015 and they stayed with her. She grew up in Detroit in the 1970s and 1980s before moving to Charleston and later Utah. Along the way she watched people being mistreated because of the color of their skin, including by police. The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Gray in Baltimore and Floyd in Minneapolis left her furious.

Pictures that travel

Allen's camera has carried West Baltimore far beyond the city. His images from the unrest after Freddie Gray died in 2015 made the cover of a national newsmagazine. So did his later work from the George Floyd protests. A picture of his late mother, caught mid-song at home, now belongs to the Smithsonian's permanent collection.

He has long said his goal is to spark hard conversations and to show kids from his neighborhood that art can open doors.

Baran's partner described her as someone who always looked out for people who were bullied or overlooked and made sure their voices counted. Leaving money to Allen, the partner believes, was one last way to push warmth and optimism into a world she often found harsh.

Arriving at the right time

The news came during one of the hardest years of Allen's life. He lost his mother and has been caring for his grandmother, who lives with dementia. Hearing that a stranger believed in his work enough to invest in it gave him fresh energy.

Allen says moments like this remind him that support can come from people you never knew were in your corner.

He received a check for about $3,000 and signed the estate papers this week.

Paying it forward

Allen is putting the money right back into the neighborhood that raised him. He is renovating his grandmother's house. That is the home where he grew up and he is turning it into a studio and art gallery.

Down the road he hopes the space will help neighborhood kids with a creative streak develop their own style. It is the same kind of quiet support Baran offered him without ever saying hello.