Woman Finds Family Sleeping Under A Bridge In Freezing Weather And Helps Them Find A Warm Home All For Themselves
Their lives have changed in just a few days due to social media.
4 PM production / Shutterstock According to government data collected in 2023, over 650,000 people in the U.S. have experienced homelessness.
Sadly, resources like homeless shelters aren't always a practical option for families with young children, who are often placed in foster care until parents can provide housing.
In this case, a mother and her three children were living on the streets to avoid this issue, and TikToker Victoria Mercado helped them afford housing with the power of social media.
Mercado shared how she helped a homeless family find a warm house of their own.
When Mercado first encountered the family, they were sleeping underneath a highway bridge. The mother, Wendy, along with her daughter and two sons, only had a shopping cart, plastic bags, a few blankets, and a cardboard pizza box.
Heartbroken over the family's circumstances, Mercado secured them a hotel room for a few nights until she could come up with a better plan.
Mercado posted their story on her social media channels and it caught the attention of Houston-based salon, Glam House. Offering free salon services to the family, the kids, and mom all got pampered for a day while Mercado was busy securing donations.
Mercado started a GoFundMe for the family, and it raised enough money to secure them a home for a year.
Mercado's GoFundMe, simply titled, "A family in need," details the family's unfortunate circumstances. In heartbreaking simplicity, Mercado wrote, "This beautiful family has under extreme circumstances had to come to America. After losing her two sons and husband due to violence she’s come to try to make a better life for her and her children."
After only a few days, Mercado raised $13,000 for them.
The amount raised was not enough to secure housing yet, but it gave the family more time in the hotel.
Mercado took Wendy and her kids to Target for essentials and also helped Wendy start her own cleaning business by making an Instagram account for her.
To add to their good fortune, a local news outlet picked up the family's story and the publicity helped exponentially in raising money and awareness for their plight.
In just a few weeks, Mercado had raised nearly $20,000 and secured Wendy a two-floor apartment for an entire year (utilities included). Wendy got a tour of the place, and seeing the bedroom where her kids would be staying brought her to tears.
“By the power of social media, we helped change this family's life,” Mercado shared.
Community support can make a greater impact than most people realize.
How many times have you been in a situation where you want to lend a hand to a person in need, but you're paralyzed by simply not knowing what to do? We've all been there, but Mercado's story is proof that it's easier than we realize.
Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a community aware of a problem to truly effect change.
The first step is sometimes simply asking someone who seems to be in distress if they need help. Showing another person you care about them, just like Mercado did, can start the ball rolling and inspire others.
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.