IRVINE, Calif. — Dignity, privacy, and protection are the three things Jordan Szigeti-Larenne said everyone should have but don’t.

So the 17-year-old high school senior started building.

What You Need To Know

  • Jordan Szigeti-Larenne designed and created a mobile cart to help unhoused people gain a sense of dignity, privacy, and protection

  • The high school student is raising money to create a nonprofit called Homes2Go

  • Szigeti-Larenne is in the process of building more carts to donate to people living on the streets

  • Szigeti-Larenne is graduating from high school and is planning to attend a university in the fall

“I want to help them any way I can. So if I can help them with this cart, that’s awesome or if I can give them whatever I have in my pocket that’s also cool too,” said Woodbrige High School senior Jordan Szigeti-Larenne.

The student from Irvine used his dad’s tools to design and build this mobile cart that he intends on giving away to people experiencing homelessness.

“I see them pushing their carts and living on the streets and sleeping on benches. It doesn’t make me feel good to see them like that when I have a home and I’m so lucky,” said Szigeti-Larenne.

He said it takes about 90 minutes to build each lightweight mobile cart that can be used as a personal shelter. It comes with a sleeping cot, buckets to be used as storage containers, an emergency toilet, a pull out table, and a cover to provide protection from the elements.

“It’s made out of a water resistant material so in theory if it’s raining, they could throw it over the whole cart and all their stuff could be protected from the rain,” said Szigeti-Larenne.

He is graduating from high school in a couple months so he’s raising money to create a nonprofit called Homes2Go to allow him to build more carts and address the rise in homelessness.

In 2019, Orange County counted about 6800 unhoused people living on the streets and in homeless shelters. It couldn’t count how many folks were living on the streets in 2020 due to the pandemic, but did track 118 more people living in shelters than in 2019.

“I’m not trying to solve homelessness right now. I can’t. I don’t know how. That’s not what I can do, but I know I can build this and I just want to help them in any way,” said Szigeti-Larenne.

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While Szigeti-Larenne has fortunately never experienced homelessness, he said he doesn’t need to in order to know it’s within his power to build privacy, protection, and dignity for people who need them. Szigeti-Larenne is interested in majoring in mechanical engineering. So far, he has been accepted into Colorado School of Mines. He is waiting to hear back from San Diego State University, and others.

To help Jordan help more people, please visit here.