Building tiny homes for the homeless
When Elvis Summers moved to South L.A. last August, he met Smokie, a 60-year-old homeless woman whose real name is Irene McGhee. She was living on the street and would come by to ask for recyclables.
When Summers learned about Smokie’s living situation — essentially in the dirt, with a broken chair — Summers wanted to help. After $500 and a trip (or two) to Home Depot, a tiny home for Smokie was born:
The house was built on wheels and parked on the street — technically a vehicle under city law. As long as the home/vehicle is moved every 72 hours, it’s allowed to stay.
After building Smokie’s house, he continued to build tiny homes for other homeless individuals he met in the area:
You can learn more about Summers’ project in the audio player above or at his website: My Tiny House Project LA
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
