Pvgzly Addams knows how helpless it can feel to live without a roof over your head -- that's why you might spot him with a hammer and nails in Ocean Park, Washington.
The formerly homeless man is building 20-square-foot "homeless huts" for his community's most vulnerable residents, according to King 5 News. A GoFundMe page started by Addams has garnered more than $2,200 as of Thursday afternoon so that he and a group of volunteers can continue creating the insulated, lightweight and portable shelters.
"It's hard to get cleaned up, to get clean clothes, to have a place to sleep at night," Addams told the King 5 News of his time living without a home. "Tent living in this weather is no fun."
In recent years, building tiny homes for those living without stable shelter has become an increasingly popular tactic by governments, nonprofits and individuals fighting homelessness. Local efforts in Portland, Oregon, Madison, Wisconsin and Greensboro, North Carolina, among other communities, have implemented tiny home strategies.
In May, California-based artist Gregory Kloehn made headlines for transforming gently used garbage into building blocks for whimsical, colorful mobile homes for those who need a safe place to sleep.
Many advocates of the initiatives have pointed to the success of a "housing first" approach to curbing homelessness -- a method endorsed by President Obama that prioritizes giving shelter to those who need it as quickly as possible.
Providing that shelter could be the difference between life and death for those living without a home, Addams said -- especially when temperatures drop.
"As the weather gets colder, more and more people living on the streets are going to succumb to frost bite, hypothermia, pneumonia, and possibly death due to lack of dry, warm shelter," he wrote on his fundraising page. "If we can even raise enough to build one shelter, for one person, that’s one less person who might die."
To support Addams work, visit his GoFundMe page.
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