Homeless Single Dad’s Life Turned Around Thanks to Kind Stranger

Rachel Bertsche
·Writer

A new viral video intended to promote kindness has launched a nationwide movement to help one homeless father and his young son.

Leon Logothetis is a motivational speaker, philanthropist, and author of The Kindness Diaries. In October, Logothetis launched a YouTube video series called the #GoBeKind Tour, where he travels across the country performing small acts of kindness for deserving people in hopes of sparking a chain reaction.

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James Moss and his son, Zhi, recently moved to Denver and lost their housing. (Photo: YouTube/Leon Logothetis)

In the fourth episode of the series, Logothetis meets James Moss, a single father who has recently moved to Denver from New York in hopes of creating a better, safer life for his 1-year-old son, Zhi. “Everything I do is for him,” Moss says in the video. “I want him to experience things I missed growing up. … I just want to be there.”

When Moss moved to Denver, he had a job and a place to stay waiting for him, he explains. But things took a tough turn when he and Zhi arrived. “The housing arrangement fell through,” he says. “Right now I’m homeless.”

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Still, Moss remains positive. “You have to be brought down to your humblest point so you can appreciate other things that are waiting for you,” he says. “To anyone else out there that feels like they want to crumble, just keep going; it’s not worth it. Don’t let it consume you.”

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Moss says he hasn’t let his recent hard times get him down. (Photo: YouTube/Leon Logothetis)

Touched by Moss’s attitude, Logothetis presents the father with an unexpected gift. “Most people don’t want to share their pain, I want to say thank you,” Logothetis tells Moss. “And the way I’m going to say thank you is by giving you $1,000.” Logothetis also promises to put Moss and his son up in a hotel for a week.

The generous gesture moves Moss to tears, and it has inspired viewers worldwide. The video has more than 857,000 views since it was posted on Nov. 3 and has inspired more than 1,300 strangers to donate to a GoFundMe page that was created by Moss’s friend. Thus far, the page has raised more than $40,000 in one week. “James is an extraordinary father and man,” writes Kayla Haskett, who created the GoFundMe page. “We are trying to raise money for James to get a reliable vehicle with the brutal Colorado weather that is coming so that his son won’t be out in freezing temperatures walking to work with his dad.”

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Leon Logothetis presented Moss with $1,000 and a weeklong stay in a hotel. (Photo: YouTube/Leon Logothetis)

Today, Moss works as a barber. After staying in the hotel for a week, he moved into a shelter, but KDVR reports he has recently secured more permanent housing. And he’s hoping all the generous donations will help him buy his own shelter. “Just get me a car and a camper,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to save some money up to get.” As for childcare, his new boss is allowing Moss to bring baby Zhi to work.

Moss told the news station that he is overwhelmed at his recent stroke of good fortune. “Those people are awesome,” Moss said of everyone donating to his cause. “Like angels in the sky.”

And when he gets back on his feet, Moss says he’s eager to pay back the kindnesses that have been afforded him. “[I find hope] knowing that there is a higher power taking you through life experiences in order to mold you into something that you need to be,” Moss said in the video. “Maybe [I’m having] this experience [so that I will] be able to repay the debt to someone else when I get situated. To pay it forward. I never expected it to be like this, but it’s like this. I’ve had nothing but good help all the way.”

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