(A)
Elvis Summers, 38, met Kenneth McGhee, 60, in September 2015, when Kenneth appeared at Elvis’ Los Angeles apartment building looking for cans and bottles to recycle. As they chatted, Kenneth, who is also known as Smokie, revealed that he had been homeless since his wife died about a decade ago. Elvis was moved to help. “I couldn’t ignore the human suffering right next to (a) me,” he says.
(B)
On the first night in his new home, Smokie “felt so relaxed, I think I must have slept half the day,” (b)he told a local news station. In April, Elvis posted on YouTube a video of the house as it was being built, getting six million views in four days. (c) He began fund-raising online to build more tiny houses for the needy, and in a month, he had collected more than $80,000.
(C)
Elvis had read about the tiny-house movement, in which people construct homes measuring 500 square feet or fewer, and believed he had the construction know-how to build a similar structure for Smokie. He spent $500 on building supplies and, in five days, built a
3.5-by-8foot house, at the curb in front of (d) his apartment. The tiny house sits on wheels so it can be moved every 72 hours to comply with city law. A sign reading “Home Sweet Home” hangs from one of the wooden walls.
(D)
With the funds he has raised, he’s building several more houses, including one for a homeless elderly woman and her dog. Eventually, Elvis wants to hire homeless people to help with construction, and he already has (e) his first employee lined up: Smokie. “I’m ready to start building,” he says. The way Elvis Summers helped Smokie can help hundreds more.