He Graduated From Abington HS While Homeless. Now He Needs Help.

ABINGTON, PA — For years, a young man in the Abington School District didn't let anything keep him down.

Despite being little more than a child, having lost his parents at a young age and being raised here and there by his siblings, he was determined to make his own way in the world.

He officially became homeless in 2015, but he refused to drop out of school. According to his teachers and friends, he lived on the couches of families and friends. He got a job, which he held from his sophomore year in high school to the present. And he continued to study. In 2016, he graduated from Abington High School.

However, now he needs help.

"(He) is an exceptional young man who has never given up," writes his former teacher Caroline Gimbel, who has launched a GoFundMe campaign for her former student. "Even after enduring an incredible amount of adversity."

The community has responded in a big way. Since a fundraiser was launched on Tuesday, almost 270 people had donated more than $16,000 to the young man's cause. Gimbel says the funds will go towards helping him get an apartment so that he can begin getting documents needed to advance his life and career.

Without an address, he has struggled to get an identification card, birth certificate, social security card, or proof of residency, Gimbel adds.

"These things translate into the beginnings of an adult life that he can be proud of and where he can honestly turn his life around. A life where he will be able to turn around and pay it forward to someone in a similar situation," she said.

To donate and to learn more, see here.

Image courtesy GoFundMe