Former Student Raises Over $27k For Homeless Teacher After Finding Him On The Street

Mar 15, 2022, 3:16 PM

A teacher standing in front of a group of students at the blackboard in a classroom.

Unsplash | National Cancer Institute

Teachers can have an incredible impact on our lives, and sometimes it can be hard to remember that they're real people with real lives and real struggles, just like us. When you're young, it's easy to believe your teachers live at the school, and only exist to teach you, but when you grow up and realize that teachers are humans who can fall on hard times just like the rest of us, it can put the world into perspective.

Teachers can play a big part in how we treat others in need, even if the teachers are the ones in need themselves.

One man, Steven Nava, has shown that his teachers definitely taught him well when he found a former teacher of his in a tough spot.

A teacher standing in front of a group of students sitting around a table in a classroom.

Unsplash | NeONBRAND

“During the last few weeks, I noticed an older man sitting in a vehicle in a parking lot near my house,” Steven told NBC Los Angeles. "I noticed that he had all of his belongings in his car, and that's when I realized he was homeless."

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Steven also then recognized the man as "Mr. V," or José Villaruel, a former substitute teacher of his.

An apple sitting on top of books, next to colored pencils and a stack of blocks with the letters ABC on them.

Unsplash | Element5 Digital

Initially, Steven gave Mr. V $300 and helped him find a hotel. "I had a mission to help the teacher who was going through a difficult time during the pandemic."

"I spoke to Mr. V, and he told me that the only source of income was a monthly Social Security check, and that most of that money was sent to his wife who is very ill in Mexico," Steven said.

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Steven then immediately took to the Internet to begin a GoFundMe page to fundraise money for Mr. V.

"I’d like to invite former past students and those who knew him to join me in delivering him the proceeds. Everyone is welcome, I want him to feel that he’s cared and loved by all those who’ve he’s helped along the years," Steven tweeted in a viral thread.

The GoFundMe raised over $27k to help get Mr V. back on his feet.

"It is an experience of my life that will be kept for the rest of my life. I carry it in my heart," Mr. V said.

"I felt that something was going to happen, that things were going to change, and it happened suddenly when I least expected it."

What an incredibly heartwarming story! It goes to show that not only can our teachers have the biggest impact on us, but we can have the biggest impact on them as well.

h/t: NBC LA