An old woman lives in her car in front of her house - and then the neighbors realized why she refuses to go inside
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Most old people have at least someone to take care of them - whether it's a child, a friend, or a caregiver.
But there are those who are completely alone. They have no one to take care of them or help them in difficult situations.
Teresa Hernandez is one of them.
The 71-year-old woman lives in her wrecked car, which is parked in the yard in front of her house.
She had no running water or electricity, so she decided to sleep in her car.
But one of her neighbors noticed when she had moved into the car, and he immediately decided to do something about it.
Theresa's neighbor, Justin, was the first to check on the elderly woman living in the car.
Justin lived across the street for just one month but noticed the 71-year-old woman crawling into her car every night.
It seemed that she lived there - something that hurt him a lot.
"It broke my heart. A 71-year-old woman sitting outside in 40 degrees is not okay", Justin said.
The temperature in Arizona, where Teresa lived, was over 40 degrees celcius in the shade.
"I thought to myself, if this was my grandmother or my mother, I wouldn't want her to live like this, so I had to do something to help her get back into living indoors", Justin said.
After a while, Justin discovered that Teresa could no longer live inside the house: the inside of the house looked like a ruin.
"It looked like a bomb had exploded inside it. There was garbage and feces everywhere. But the yard was full of garbage, worn clothes and dog feces".
Teresa explained that she could no longer take care of the house and her two dogs after her husband died.
"My house became a dumpster", Teresa said.
It was clear that it would take time to clean Teresa's house, and above all, it would cost a lot of money and require a big commitment.
So Justin started a Facebook page to bring neighbors and friends together so they could help Teresa.
But the good deed was not limited only to the local residents, because very soon, strangers from all over Arizona began arriving at Teresa's home.
There were people who donated money to the project, and there were others who helped with the cleanup.
Plumbers and electricians offered their service for free.
LIVING IN HER CAR: Her house has no running water, electricity and it looks like it's straight out of an episode of...
Posted by FOX 10 Phoenix on Sunday, September 10, 2017
Teresa couldn't be more happy and grateful. She had actually already lost hope and didn't think she would ever live in this house again.
"I don't know what I would do without people like them. What the world would do without people like that. There aren't many like them", she said.
Teresa's house will need a lot of love before it's livable again. But thanks to the work of Justin and many volunteers, the future looks bright.
"I don't believe we will finish this quickly, it will be a process. It will be a long process, but at least we all worked together and everyone is trying to help Mrs. Teresa get back to her home", Justin said.
We wish there were more people like Justin with empathy and a big heart! But today, it is quite rare.
It's important to let the world know of people like Justin and all the volunteers who helped Teresa, because we truly believe their efforts can inspire the rest of the world.