by Shawn Nowlin
A Roanoke native is doing his part to make the world a better place. Brandon Brando, 36, recently built a tiny home for a Roanoke resident who has experienced homelessness for a few years. The recipient of the selfless gesture, a woman named Dawn, was beyond appreciative when she received the news.
“The property owner, Dorothy Owsley, allowed us to house the unit on her land and gave Dawn access to her bathroom inside the home. Dawn was very excited to hear that she finally had a place to call home,” Brando said. “When she moved in, she was so joyful and grateful. She danced and smiled non-stop. Since receiving her new home, we have noticed such an improvement in her well-being.”
Instrumental in making the tiny home a reality was Brando’s cousin, Tiphaney Helm.
Five days were required, but the two successfully installed fans, insulation, a small generator, and locks on the door to keep Dawn’s belongings safe. The final touches included adding a coffee maker, a ‘welcome’ mat, and a ‘home’ décor sign. Excluding travel and labor costs, the tiny home cost approximately $1,500. While there were some donations, most of the expenditures were covered by Tiphaney and Brando.
“This living unit supplies unhoused individuals like Dawn with basic human necessities such as shelter from inclement weather, storage area, solar led lighting, and a 100-watt solar panel with a solar generator. The generator has two USB ports and two electrical outlets. The unit is completely insulated as well,” Brando said.
He added, “It has an intake and exhaust fan to circulate air within the unit as well as windows which can be locked on the inside. The door can be locked on the inside and on the outside for when occupants leave the unit.”
There are approximately 215 people in the Roanoke Valley experiencing homelessness, according to a recent Blue Ridge Continuum of Care Report. If Brando could, he says he would provide every homeless person with all the resources they need to not have to live on the streets.
Raised in Roanoke, Brando moved to Atlanta, Georgia, last year. ByondMe, a solution-based program designed to positively impact underserved individuals in the community, was something that he created.
“We are solutionist, and our focus is strictly on the solution, not the problem. ByondME started with a homeless individual I met in my neighborhood in Atlanta, Mr. Reginald. I watched him live in a refrigerator box with a tarp over it for around a year in which we became good friends. I would give him money, food, and clothes from time to time, but I knew he needed more than that. He needed a home,” Brando said. “So, with the help of my uncle John Brown, we built the first ‘Live Station’ in my apartment. And with the completion of that first unit, I knew I had found my purpose in this life.”
Individuals interested in supporting Brando’s efforts are encouraged to visit imbrandonbrando.com/byondme for more information.
