Uber driver sees veteran living in terrible conditions, rallies community to help

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — An Uber driver has rallied the community behind a 89-year-old veteran living in terrible conditions.

Lauren Mulvihill picked up Mr. Ronald from the hospital one day and dropped him off at home. She came back later that day to check and bring him food.

That's when she noticed all the problems and decided to help.

"I felt like I had to. I couldn't just leave him here all by himself," Mulvihill told Channel 2 anchor Wendy Corona. 

The Uber driver soon realized she couldn't do it alone. Her call to the community was answered.

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"He expressed to me, sorry about the mess. I try to get down there and clean it but I just can't,"

The level of filth inside of Ronald's home took Mulvihill's breath away, literally.

"Urine is all you could smell. Just strong, strong, strong odor of urine," she said.

She described it as years of neglect. Ronald and his dog, King, lived there alone. The widow and veteran needed help.

"I came back later that night just to check on him," Mulvihill said.

She started to clean but it was simply too much for the single mother and student to take on, so she posted about her encounter on Facebook.

"I'm floored. I'm blown away by the response that I got," Mulvilhill said.

An army of volunteers, face masks very necessary, began cleaning and tearing everything out of the house. They filled one dumpster, another is on the way.

Mulvihill told Corona, Ronald is mentally sharp, but physically just can't, it's why nurses no longer come to the house.

"He used to have them and they stopped coming because of the conditions of the home," she said. "The smell is almost gone. We have ripped up the carpets, all the trash is out. The old furniture is out. We have started to de-mold."

Conditions are improving for the home and Ronald.

"He's thankful that he has all these people around, he loves it," Mulvihill said.

An Amazon wishlist has been created for the veteran. You can learn more here.

A Facebook page has also been created. You can learn more here.

Cox Media Group