“I had a mission to help the teacher who was going through a difficult time during the pandemic,” said the former student.
Every morning, when Steven Nava went to work, he’d see someone sleeping in their car in a parking lot. It would be a few weeks before he learned he knew the man.
“I noticed that he had all of his belongings in his car, and that’s when I realized he was homeless,” Nava told NBC Los Angeles, an affiliate in Southern California. He also realized the man was his former substitute high school teacher, José Villaruel, also known as Mr. V. Villaruel stopped working once the schools went to virtual sessions last year, and has since experienced housing insecurity.
Once Nava spoke to Villaruel and realized the connection, he helped his former teacher find a hotel and gave him $300. “I had a mission to help the teacher who was going through a difficult time during the pandemic,” he said.
Credit: TODAY by Jillian Eugenios
