LOS ANGELES (AP) - After Elvis Summers built a tiny house on wheels for a woman who had been sleeping on the streets, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to construct similar shelters for other homeless people in his South Los Angeles neighborhood.
He had no grand ambitions beyond lending a helping hand in a city with thousands of residents without roofs over their heads.
"Honestly I thought I'd raise enough money to help a dozen people, call it a day, and then go back to stressing about my job," said the 38-year-old, who runs an online apparel store.
Summers never thought more than 5.6 million people would watch a YouTube video of him constructing the 8-foot-long house for "Smokie," a grandmother who's been homeless for more than a decade. He estimates he spent less than $500 on plywood, shingles, a window and a door. The video ends with Smokie doing a little jig and hanging up a "Home Sweet Home" sign.
Now Summers, who sports a blue mohawk and wraparound shades, suddenly considers himself a man with a mission. He has started a nonprofit and reached out to Los Angeles officials to get the city involved in his plan to build more tiny homes for transients.
"People are calling it a movement," he said Thursday. "I'm humbled. But now I can't turn my back on it."
Builders said they would donate materials, contractors offered to help in the design of the small wheeled structures, and chefs said they would to bring food to the construction sites.
Summers said he wants to hire homeless people to help with the construction. Smokie said she would be the first person to sign up.
"I'm ready to start building," she said. "Give people a good night's rest. Someplace warm."
It is unclear if the city would enforce rules for these homes. Smokie said police have told her she won't be bothered as long as she moves the home, which is small enough to fit in a parking space, every three days.
And the structure is so small that it wouldn't require permits if built on private property, said Luke Zamperini, spokesman for the city Building and Safety department.
"We do not consider it a dwelling or a building as it does not meet the definition of either," Zamperini said.
And the structure is so small that it wouldn't require permits if built on private property, said Luke Zamperini, spokesman for the city Building and Safety department.
And the structure is so small that it wouldn't require permits if built on private property, said Luke Zamperini, spokesman for the city Building and Safety department.
Sounds like a true humanitarian project that can lead to small shelters quickly at low cost and benefit those who need them both with jobs helping to build them and with interim shelter from the elements.
I've read about this before Nona. Great idea, and kudo's to Mr. Summers.
It would be so nice if others started doing this too.
Nice story Nona62, thanks for posting it.
What Elvis built for Smokie is a lot smaller than the Tiny houses being shown on the "Tiny House Nation" serious and other showsof its ilk but it sure as heck looks much nicer a place to sleep than some random cardboard box covered in plastic.
Thank you NWM! Thank you for posting the pic's
What a kind hearted man.....
To everyone who thinks this is a good idea-can they park on your street, in front of your house? You don't mind that they may have to take a dump or a leak in the middle of the night ? Right ? Next to your mailbox or flower bed or picket fence ? And you certainly won't mind helping them "move" every three days, right ? And you'll supply money for the meters in the urban areas, right ? In LA I think it's 25 cents now for 6 minutes.
Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with this
What a wonderful idea and a worthwhile charity. Sheer brilliance!
I have been watching about the tiny house movement for those who want to downsize and remain rent free. It is quite interesting. Great documentary called "Tiny" about it. You can find it on Nexflix
Great find Nona!
We The Tiny House People (Documentary): Small Homes, Tiny Flats & Wee Shelters
Living Small - Tiny House Documentary from Bellwether Initiative on Vimeo .
Found it for ya...
and another one
Nona, That was AH for the pics, but I appreciate the thought.
I posted the Documentary below that Perrie made me aware of...
Nice post girl!
So can they park in front of your house Perrie? For the ones in the city are you going to pay for the meters? There are so many problems with this scenario I can't believe no one here has thought through the consequences or logistics of this idea! Good grief.
Thanks Perrie! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
These articles have nothing to do with the little houses on wheels in LA. Where do they park the little "houses" on wheels that have to be moved every three days ? Parking spaces ? That's what the article says. And where do the people relieve themselves ? This idea is so fraught with problems it's absurd.
Thanks for the videos!!
Pat,
I am not saying that these tiny homes should be parked willy nilly, but what they do represent something better than having people sleeping in boxes in front of my home.
Pat,
Where do you think these people are now? They don't go to the shelters, hence why they live in boxes. I realize that the present idea has problems and I do see what you are talking about. But they still have these problems with having boxes on the street as your home.
It is a stop gap measure.
There is plenty of room for the homeless vets at the VA campus in LA, but there is a war being fought over the land because it's so valuable. Developers want to buy all of the older land, tear the buildings down and turn it into a condo/shopping mall project. I have no doubt that at least some (if not most) of the homeless in LA are vets and that would be a start at least. Put up as many as possible in the old hospital buildings (the big hang up seems to be the cost of retrofitting them for earthquakes) and there will still be plenty of land for many of these tiny homes. It might not solve the homeless problem there, but it'll make a damned big dent in it.