It isn’t too uncommon to come across a few homeless people in life. When we are exposed to people who are suffering in these living conditions, we often wonder what we can do to help them. And sometimes, sadly, we feel like there isn’t much we can do. So we acknowledge the issue and then we continue on with our lives.
This selfless man was not ready to do any of that, though. When he became aware of a homeless woman who was struggling in his neighborhood, he knew he had to do something to help her. Instead of just chugging along, he decided to put in a true effort to change her life — and he ended up doing just that.
Irene “Smokie” McGee was a woman that many people in Southern Los Angeles were familiar with. Everyone knew her name and was nice to her in general, but it never really went beyond that.
But then a man named Elvis Summers came along.
Elvis knew that Smokie was 60-years-old. He assumed that, at the very least, she had a box to sleep in once nightfall came but to his surprise, she did not. He found that to be heartbreaking, so he decided to help out in a very special way.
“She was literally sleeping in the dirt and I just wanted to make her a place where she could feel comfortable and at least get a good night’s sleep,” Elvis told ABC News.
“So, I asked her ‘what would you think if I built you a mini house’ and I think she thought I was crazy,” he added. “I saw online that people were building these tiny homes. I had done construction before, so figured that’s easy — I could do that.”
“We are all human. It could be somebody’s sister, grandmother, or somebody’s kids out there. She was very grateful. She’s very sweet and she said ‘no one’s ever done anything for me.’ When I first met her, until now, she looks like a different person. She seems legitimately happy now,” Elvis said.
After doing some research, Elvis found that many people have been making tiny homes. So he decided to give it a go on his own. He would go on to build a tiny spot for Smokie, just big enough for her to have a space to live in.
He spent only five days working on the tiny home until it was complete. It took $500 to get all of the supplies he needed for the project.
Unfortunately, Smokie passed away back in November 2016. However, regardless, Elvis’ kind gesture made her so incredibly happy. He truly changed her life for the better in that sweet moment.
And it doesn’t end there. Smokie may have passed, but the special moment resulted in something even bigger. Elvis ended up crowdsourcing more than $50,000 for Starting Human, his organization that is dedicated to building tiny homes for the homeless.
Elvis is out here changing lives. We’re so happy that this moment of kindness flourished into something that will continue to help others down the line!
Check out a clip on Elvis’ story below.
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