Man raises over $67,000 for homeless veteran to get him a house and a vehicle

In the United States, as many as 40,000 military veterans face homelessness, as per a report by Statista. According to data published by them this year, about 10,395 veterans living in California were homeless in 2022. One homeless veteran did not have much hope left in him but a chance encounter with a stranger changed everything for him. @jimmydarts meets several people who are struggling to find a home and he tries to help them through his 12 million followers. In a recent video, he spoke about Roy, a military veteran, who was attempting to head back to Tulsa, Oklahoma with his son. 

Initially, Darts told Roy that he was homeless and asked him for a dollar. Although Roy was homeless himself, he handed Darts some change. "Sometimes I end up giving every dime," he said and added, "And then I find more money." Little did Roy know that his theory would come true within minutes. Darts soon revealed his identity and give Roy $500 in cash and also returned his quarter. After ensuring that the gift was real, Roy thanked Darts and booked himself a hotel room to rest in. "Now I can get a bath," he said. But that was just the beginning.

Darts started raising a fund called "Help Roy A Homeless Veteran Off The Streets!," which was aimed at collecting $20,000 for Roy initially. But people donated even more and he ended up raising $66,502 in just 5 days. "No veteran should have to be homeless on the streets," Darts wrote on his GoFundMe page. "Let’s change his life forever and raise enough funds for Roy to get a vehicle and a place to stay!" When Darts told Roy that all this money had been collected to help him, Roy asked in gratitude, "How do I thank all of them?" Roy also shared something that left TikTok users quite emotional: "If I was to swim out there and drown, nobody would even care. I thought, well, you know, eventually my son would find out. He'd care a bit. But that's about it." When Darts said that Jesus love Roy, he replied, "He must, but I was beginning to wonder." The veteran told Darts: "Wow...I'm glad I didn't drown, I would have missed a blessing." 

People appreciated the heartfelt gesture by the TikToker. His post has garnered 371.5 likes. "'I’m glad I didn’t drown' had me sobbing," commented @jamiecthom while @bearsm0mma wrote: "A veteran should never be homeless. Thank you for your service, Roy!" @jaytucker92 shared: "'Even if you don’t love me, God, I still love you!' That hit me hard! God bless you and thank you for your service!" @ogmemmyb chimed in and commented: "Roy, Jesus loves you so much, and we love you too!" @courtneysparr expressed her gratitude to Roy with these kind words: "We love you, Roy, thank you for your service praying for you always God bless you." "Roy deserves it. Thank you, Jimmy and everyone who’s contributed to making Roy’s life, that bit better," wrote @rob19694.