Each and every major city in the United States is home to thousands of individuals who are without homes and living on the streets. We must provide assistance and support to those who are homeless; otherwise, they may never have the opportunity to alter their situation.
Irene “Smokie” McGee, who had been sleeping on a piece of dirt outside of Elvis Summers’s home, was surprised to discover that this was the case when he came face to face with her. After seeing the widespread trend of individuals constructing small dwellings, Summers decided that he wanted to put his own construction abilities to constructive use.
Summers first came into contact with McGee when she went to his residence in Los Angeles and knocked on the door. She was seeking for recyclables that she could trade in for cash. As soon as he saw that the lady did not even have a tarp or box to sleep on, he felt that he had to take action in order to assist her.
The father made the decision to construct a little house for McGee that was portable and could be moved about easily. The first thing he did was go directly to the hardware shop, where he purchased items for a total of $500. 2015 saw the completion of the small house, which McGee had labored on for many days, and which had a door that could be locked to ensure the safety of her goods.
While Summers was constructing the home, he recorded his work on camera and shared it with others. After some time had passed, he uploaded this video on YouTube in the hope that it might motivate others to assist the homeless in their own areas. In addition to it, he was successful.
Despite the fact that the video has received more than 7.2 million views, Summers has been able to capitalize on the notoriety to launch the Tiny House Huge Purpose fundraising drive. Continue reading to understand more about Summers and McGee, as well as the ways in which this individual is assisting even more folks in his region.
At the time that Summers first saw McGee, he was not completely aware of how precarious her circumstances were. “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 told The Independent newspaper.
Summers was aware that he needed to take action in order to assist McGee, despite the fact that he was experiencing financial difficulties himself. He disclosed that:
“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.”
It was then that Summers added, “I went straight to the hardware store and made the decision to purchase the materials to construct her a tiny house so that she could at least have a warm and secure place to sleep instead of sleeping in the dirt.” In comparison to a few payments, which I am certain I will be able to pay late and catch up on, it was of more significance.
After learning about what Summers done for McGee, a local church has made the offer to provide their parking lot as a location where the Tiny Homes might be stored for the night during the event. “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,” according to Summers.
As a result of the attention that the video has received, Summers has altered his objective. He further added, “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.”