Ruth Ratliff
The woman in this picture is Ruth Ratliff.
She owns a big house, but for some unknown reason, she chooses to sleep inside her car every night. Something wrong is going on here...
Strange Things
Kevin Burns lives in the neighborhood and he realized that something really strange must be going on in the woman's house.
What could be the reasons why she doesn't want to sleep comfortably in her own bed? What was she hiding inside the house?
Lots of Questions
Kevin Burns had lots of questions, but Ruth didn't want to answer them.
She was just happy to show him the inside of her "mini-home" and she told him that he doesn't need to worry about the house anymore.
Earn Her Trust
Kevin Burns knew that he had to earn Ruth's trust if he ever wanted to find out what's going on inside her house and to help her move back.
So, he started getting in conversations with her and one day, he mustered up the courage to ask her what's wrong with her house. Keep reading to find out what she had to say.
It's A Dump
Without any hesitation, the woman looked Kevin Burns in the eyes and told him that her house is a dump. What could this mean?
Kevin Burns was even more curious now that she told him this and he wanted to look inside, but he needed permission first.
Friendly Neighbor
Kevin Burns got to know Ruth better and he asked how her house ended up being a dump. This is when she broke down and started crying.
She explained to Kevin Burns that when her husband died, she stopped caring for the house and it ended up a total mess.
Helping Out
After Kevin Burns heard her story, he was more determined than ever to help her move back.
He was even ready to clean up all the thrash, but he needed an excuse to enter the house.
Ruth Asks For Help
Kevin Burns saw that Ruth was crying one day and he asked her what's wrong. The old woman told him that she can't remember the faces of her parents and she has a photo of them inside the house.
This is when she asked him to go inside and pick it up. He was not ready...
Shocked!
The friendly neighbor was shocked to see how messy the house looked.
To make things even worse, the house smelled of rotten food and Kevin Burns could barely stand it. However, he needed to find the photo.
Family Photo
As Kevin Burns was searching for the photo that Ruth wanted so bad, he spotted something weird.
Something interesting was hiding behind a bunch of wooden panels and without giving it too much thought, Kevin Burns decided to go exploring.
Spooky Room
Kevin Burns stumbled upon a secret room. The scary thing about this room is that it wasn't dirty. Of course, there was dust everywhere, but there wasn't any thrash.
After looking around for a bit, the man realized that this was a baby room. The strange thing is that Ruth never mentioned having any children...
Make Things Right
After seeing the messy house, Kevin Burns decided that he wants to help out.
He talked with his wife and agreed that he should come some experts to come remove all the trash and clear the mold.
Cleaning Up
Kevin Burns called a team of experts to help take the mold off the walls because the air was so toxic that he could barely breathe.
The experts told Kevin Burns that this is the worst case they have ever seen...
Only One Solution
The experts were not able to remove the mold. Ruth was sad to hear that, but she knew her house was infested with mold and this is why she never slept there.
Sadly, the experts told Ruth that the only solution to get rid of the mold was to burn the entire house down!
Burn Down The House
Since Ruth was not even using the house anymore, she called the firefighters and told them to burn the moldy house down.
This is when Kevin Burns realized that he managed to make his neighbor homeless.
Guilt
Kevin Burns was feeling guilty for what he had done and he came up with a rather brilliant idea to help Ruth out.
He was never going to get enough money to build her a new home on his own and he asked the internet for help.
Donations
Kevin Burns started a GoFundMe page where he told everyone Ruth's story. People all over the world were moved to tears and they started donating money.
However, everything changed when Kevin Burns received a call from an elder home.
The Phone Call
One day, Kevin Burns received a call from a non-profit organization that was willing to take Ruth in.
To make things even better, the elder home was just ten miles away from Kevin Burns and he could visit her whenever he wanted.
New Friends
Ruth was no longer homeless. She had a place to call home and she managed to make lots of new friends.
However, Kevin Burns still had one important question to ask Ruth...what happened to her children?
Ruth Speaks Out
Kevin Burns asked Ruth about the strange baby room he found and she smiled. She told him that she didn't have any baby and that the room was hers when she was just a little kid.
Not just that, but the reason why Ruth sealed it shut is because she couldn't have kids of her own and didn't want to be reminded of that.