WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Wow, have things changed for 72-year-old Frank Sawicki.
On September 17we interviewed him outside a motel in Royal Oak. He was in dire need of housing. On Wednesday we visited him in his own studio apartment.
He told us he has been living there since October 5th.
Watch our September coverage of strangers in Royal Oak coming together to help Frank Sawicki in the video below:
Strangers in Royal Oak work together to help a blind man in need
Sawicki has been blind since birth and was recognized by thousands in our September story for selling pencils at 13 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue.
We all found out he needed a place to live because of a Royal Oak woman, Jillian Ripper. Ripper was also a stranger to Sawicki in early September.
One afternoon she recognized him on a street corner and asked him if he needed help.
After learning he needed housing, she created a GoFundMe page hoping to find a long term solution for him. We included it all in our September story.
“(The response) was a lot. Hundreds of people responded,” Ripper told us on Wednesday.
Among those who responded was Dan Phillips, director of sales for American House Senior Living Communities.
He told us on Wednesday that colleagues sent him Sawicki’s story in September.
“I also got an email from our CEO Dale Watchowski, and his wife saw your news story and decided we should help Frank.” said Phillips.
Phillips went to meet Sawicki. Then, with the help of Ripper and GoFundMe, American House offered Sawicki an apartment at a rate he could afford for the rest of his life!
It even includes the daily care Sawicki needs, such as a nurse check-in, meals and housekeeping.
“When I first met him when he was at the motel, I always made sure he was fed or fed that day,” Ripper said. ‘Now I don’t have to worry about that. I know he’s safe somewhere.’
When asked how he felt about all the people who recognized and helped him, Sawicki said “that was good.”
Ripper and other strangers to Sawicki are now his friends and his life has changed because of it.
“She takes me out or she takes me to the doctor when I have to go.” Sawicki said about Ripper.
One thing remains the same: Sawicki still enjoys selling pencils at Woodward and 13.
When asked about her message for others, Ripper said: “Literally treat people the way you want to be treated. Just take care of it.”
Sawicki said “I would like to thank them very much.”
If you want to help Sawicki, Ripper said you can donate to his GoFundMe. Those dollars are put into a special needs trust and Sawicki uses them for groceries, cleaning supplies and transportation money.
The No. All Sawicki is looking for now is someone to take him to church on Sundays.
If you would like to help with that, you can contact Sawicki at Ripper at [email protected].