Woman praised for way she responded after seeing homeless teenager sleeping in her garden

A woman has been praised for the way she responded after seeing a homeless teenager sleeping in her garden.

Elly Pimentel, from Washington State, US, initially held back from sharing any of the story online but began posting videos of their exchange on TikTok on the handle @ellayyyyee.

Hoping to just get some advice, her videos from last month have gone completely viral as she shared updates on the ‘unhoused boy’.

Elly explained a teenager had ‘been living in her yard’.

“He can’t stay, but I don’t really want to evict him, either,” she wrote.

Racking up hundreds of thousands of views as users respond with praise, advice and similar experiences, she said she’d noticed the 16-year-old lad a number of times.

She explained how she had noticed him curled up near her home but ‘didn’t ask him to leave’.

“My ring doorbell has alerted me to his presence in the past, and he is always respectful,” she wrote on a clip. “He genuinely looks like he’s just gotten out of class at the nearby high school.”

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Elly went on to say that he doesn’t ‘talk to anyone’, he just is there reading, eating snacks and ‘just rests’.

She wrote the teen a note to say she is ‘100 percent okay’ with him being outside her home and left him some supplies, offering to do his washing and allowing him to use her water to clean up.

The young lad eventually left her a note back thanking her but said he ‘don’t feel comfortable’ to go into her back garden.

They ended up exchanging notes for weeks while users became hooked on the story.

People commented on her videos to say: “How you’ve handled this situation is perfect.”

Others added: “Thank you for being kind to this kid.”

“This is so genuine and pure,” another said.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Elly described: “A lot of people have said that I’ve done a good thing or have complimented me as a person when I’ve literally done the bare minimum.”

She explained how she tried ‘to walk a fine line between making this available to him without any strings attached’.

“I’m doing it because I see you, and if this benefits you, great. If you want to continue sleeping on the stoop, that’s fine too. But if you’d like to improve your situation, here are these things, with no pressure either way.”

The pair met face-to-face this month, with him sharing his story.

“I did my best to keep that information confidential. He has been very vulnerable and shared sensitive details,” Elly explained.

“That led to a 90-minute conversation where he laid out what was going on,” she added. “I made him aware that we would need to take next steps. I started calling resources and gathering information for that next step.”

If you've been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Shelter via their webchat service or on 0808 800 4444. The line is open 8am-6pm Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.