TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Facebook post, a housing advocate, and a caring community helped Tammie Gail move from survival to stability.
- After losing her home in November, Tammie Gail relied on community donations before finding permanent housing through community support.
- I-Rise Homes, a housing assistance business that helps individuals who can self sustain stepped in to provide transitional housing when blankets weren’t enough.
- Watch the video to see how small acts of kindness can lead to life-changing impact.
Tallahassee woman who asked for help online now has a place to call home
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"I'm happy to have a home," Tammie Gail said.
When we first introduced you to Tammie Gail, she was bracing for cold nights inside her car.
I'm Lyric Sloan in Northwest Tallahassee, reintroducing you to Gail from inside a place she can finally call home.
"It's all I wanted. I could close the door and say I'm home. I feel safe and comfortable, warm at night. I don't need 10 blankets," Gail said.
Just two weeks ago, warmth came in layers: 10 blankets, extra socks, and hand warmers tucked into pockets.
After losing her home in November, Tammie Gail was surviving one Facebook post at a time, leaning on strangers for help and bracing against the cold.
But one member of the community, Latashia Smith, noticed what no donation could replace, a front door.
"I always said you know, it's great that people were able to give her food, people were able to give her blankets, but it's only so many blankets or food that you can put in a car. You know at the end of the day, she needs somewhere to live," Smith said.
That realization turned compassion into action.
Smith stepped into her business, I-Rise Homes, a transitional housing program built on the belief that stability starts with shelter.
"So the idea came from different people needing help, people needing help as far as they may be between homes, or they got kicked out of their homes, or they're just not being able to afford the rent on the home that they lived in," Smith said.
Since 2021, I-Rise Homes has helped bridge that gap, and in Tammie's case, it was a Facebook group called Living Tallahassee that brought the right people together at the right time.
Strangers connected by one shared goal, help.
"It changed my view of society. I used to say, society is horrible. People just don't care. I tell you what they care, the concern, the love, the compassion, the giving," Gail said.
Changed everything for Gail.
Gail says having a roof over her head has given her the safety and security she longed for just two weeks ago in her car.
She tells me she hopes her story reminds others that asking for help can be the first step forward.
In Northwest Tallahassee, Lyric Sloan,ABC 27.
I-Rise Homes Contact: 850-556-0838
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