Rick Stevens is well known for being a host on the Travel Channel and garnering a lot of acclaim and support while doing but what he is trying to accomplish these days is something far more different than a Travel Channel deal. Stevens is a rather unique case in the pool of success stories. When we often think about people who have attained some wealth, we think of the scrooge who sits atop their pile of money; however, Rick Stevens is making money speak by helping people in need. Back in 2005, Stevens went to the Trinity Palace apartment complex and bought the entire complex merely for the purpose of housing single mothers and struggling families. Stevens with a little help from the Rotary and YMCA clubs has managed and continues to manage to provide housing for these families completely rent free. The reason why this is possible for Stevens is because instead of making a profit off of the rent being paid like many landlords he makes his profit off of the equity of the complex’s value appreciating.
Far more importantly than the money however is the joy of helping others and the sense of doing the right thing. Stevens believes fundamentally that the goal of this project is simply to give single mother’s some relief and a chance to get their lives back together.
Tamara, who is a single mother struggling with addiction in addition to her housing dilemma, is one of many mothers who has thanked the program immensely and went on to say that because of this program she was able to raise her kids, be a mother, and not have to worry about the day to day question concerning whether or not the family would have a place to sleep for that night. In short, she states that the program allowed for her to be a mother once again, something that Rick Stevens is more than happy to provide.
Another factor that makes Stevens a bit of an oddball is the fact that this program shows off his philosophic ideologies concerning money and financial investment. He describes himself as a person that invests in people rather than the “normal” financial institutions such as the stock market. He believes that doing this sort of work becomes far more rewarding than investing your money into more money. Stevens’ world view was certainly impacted when he traveled the world with a backpack and a rail pass. Throughout his travels, he noticed how uncertain free and safe housing was for a traveler let alone a family in a need and this dilemma made him refocus and understand why and how families in need should receive safe and free housing. For Stevens, this is why he succeeded with his Travel Channel endeavors and this, investing in people, is what he was meant to do with his success.
