WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Wow, have things changed for 72-year-old Frank Sawicki.
On Sept. 17, we interviewed him outside a motel in Royal Oak. He was in desperate need of housing. On Wednesday, we visited him at his own studio apartment.
He told us he's been living there since Oct. 5.
Watch our September coverage of strangers in Royal Oak coming together to help Frank Sawicki in the video below:
Sawicki has been blind since birth and was recognized in our September story by thousands for selling pencils at 13 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue.
We all found out that he was in need of housing then because of a Royal Oak woman, Jillian Ripper. Ripper was also a stranger to Sawicki at the beginning of September.
One afternoon, she recognized him on a street corner and asked him if he needed help.
After learning that he was in need of 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, the director of sales for American House Senior Living Communities.
He told us on Wednesday that co-workers sent him Sawicki's story back in September.
"I also got an email from our CEO Dale Watchowski, and his wife had seen your news story and decided that we needed to help Frank out," Phillips said.
Phillips went to meet Sawicki. Then with Ripper and the GoFundMe's help, American House offered Sawicki an apartment at a rate that he will be able to afford the rest of his life!
It even includes the daily care Sawicki needs like check-ins from a nurse, meals and housekeeping.
"When I first met him when he was in the motel, I would always make sure that he got dinner or ate that day," Ripper said. "Now, I don’t have to worry about that. I know he is somewhere safe."
When asked what he thought of all the people who recognized and helped him, Sawicki said "that was good."
Ripper and other strangers to Sawicki are now his friends and because of it, his life has changed.
"She does take me out or she takes me to the doctor if I need to go," Sawicki said about Ripper.
One thing does remain the same, Sawicki still loves selling pencils at Woodward and 13.
When asked her message for others, Ripper said: "Literally treat people the way you want to be treated. Just care."
Sawicki said "I want to thank them very much."
If you'd like to help Sawicki, Ripper said you can do so by donating to his GoFundMe. Those dollars are put in a special needs trust and Sawicki uses them for groceries, cleaning supplies and transportation money.
The no. 1 thing Sawicki is looking for right now is someone to help drive him to church on Sundays.
If you'd like to help with that, you can contact Sawicki via Ripper at jillianripper22@gmail.com.
