Every major American city has hundreds of homeless individuals living on
its streets. The homeless may never have the opportunity to improve their
situation if they don't get our assistance and support.
When Elvis Summers saw Irene "Smokie" McGee, who had been camped out on a
piece of dirt outside his home, he discovered that this was really the case.
Observing the widespread practice of individuals constructing tiny homes,
Summers desired to make the most of his own building abilities.
Summers first made contact with McGee when she knocked on his Los Angeles
house in search of recyclables to trade for cash. He realized he needed to
assist the woman when he saw that she had no box or tarp to sleep on.
The man made the decision to construct McGee a small, readily portable
house. He headed directly to the hardware shop and purchased items for $500.
2015 saw the completion of the tiny house, which has a locking door to
protect McGee's possessions. Work took several days.
Summers recorded his work while building the house on camera. In an effort
to encourage people to assist the homeless in their own neighborhoods, he
later uploaded this film to YouTube. He exceeded that goal as well.
With more than 7.2 million views on the video, Summers was able to launch
the Tiny House Huge Purpose fundraising drive thanks to the media attention.
To find out more about Summers, McGee, and how he is assisting even more
locals, continue reading.
Summers was unaware of McGee's poor circumstances when he initially met
her. "I knew she was homeless, but only found out about three weeks ago that
she didn't even have a tarp or a cardboard box to sleep in," he stated to
The Independent.
Despite facing financial difficulties of his own, Summers felt compelled to
assist McGee. He revealed:
"I can barely keep my own lights on, but I saw that a 60-year-old woman was
sleeping literally in the dirt, next to a house – a house where everybody
carries on with their happy, warm lives, enjoying their hot showers, and
toilets to use, the food in their fridge, clean water to drink, electricity,
TV, etc."
Summers went on, "I decided to buy the materials to build her a tiny house
so she could at least have a warm, safe place to sleep instead of the dirt,
so I went straight to the hardware store." It was more significant than a
few debts, which I can definitely pay later and make up."
A nearby church has volunteered to let the Tiny Homes stay overnight in
their parking lot after learning about what Summers did for McGee. "The
people of the church are willing to help with showers, food and clothing to
help all the people in the tiny homes we put there to climb back up,"
Summers stated.
Summers's objective has shifted in light of the video's widespread notice.
He said, "Because my video went viral and I've got such a huge global
response I've expanded my plan to help a few more people into helping as
many as I possibly can."
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