How One American Is Quietly Building Portable Tiny Homes For Homeless Veterans

How One American Is Quietly Building Portable Tiny Homes For Homeless Veterans A 60-year-old grandmother named Smokie slept on a piece of cardboard in South Los Angeles for over 10 years. Her neighbors waved at her every morning. They said hello. They gave her recyclables to cash in for change. And then every night, they walked back inside their warm homes while she stayed outside in the dirt. One Tuesday morning in April 2015, Elvis Summers - a struggling musician who lived in the same neighborhood - couldn't pretend anymore. He drove to Home Depot, spent $500, and built her a portable tiny home. She locked the door behind her and sat inside for two hours, crying. This is the story of what happened next. The viral YouTube video. The city of Los Angeles trying to shut it down. The pivot to homeless veterans. The Vietnam vet named Walter who slept in alleys for 20 years before Elvis built him a $900 wooden box that became his home until he died peacefully inside it three years later. And why one man with a hammer is doing more for homeless veterans than government programs that cost a thousand times more. Eleven years. One person. Hundreds of veterans now housed. While America spent $13 billion on official veteran homeless programs and failed.