It all started four years ago, when James Charles and his wife Haydee first started working with the Kiplin Automotive used car lot in Charlotte, North Carolina.
They were tasked with tracking down people who couldn’t pay their loans and repossessing their cars. The two of them hated every second of it, especially when one of the repossession guys came to them and told him he couldn’t get one of the cars because a woman was living in it. That didn’t stop the couple from trying to help, the woman Desiree Thompson told PEOPLE Magazine, “They made me feel like I was worth caring about.” This comes after the couple tried to find Thompson a shelter, but to no avail, ended up buying her a week at a hotel.
Upon being able to purchase the dealership, the family immediately realized this problem was a much bigger issues. Charles shared, “One of our first customers was Mr. Yates. He bought a car but didn’t have anywhere to go so we let him sleep on the lot. He had a fan in there, a heater. Sometimes he would stay in hotels but he always said he felt most comfortable sleeping in his van.”
Things didn’t stop there for the Charles couple. They noticed that in California they have what’s called ‘safe places’ through churches, where people can park their car and be in a safe space. So they made an unused space on their car lot into one of these safe spaces. He posted the news on the dealership’s Facebook page, inviting people to park there and their phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
Not only are people in need utilizing the offering, but people from across the country are offering to provide supples to those staying with them. They even set up a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of offering even more to the people who show up in need.
