Many of us can’t remember our very first night in our own bed. Since many of us take this experience for granted, it’s simple to forget what life may be like without it. Not everyone, though, is as lucky in life. A little boy in Detroit recently experienced sleeping in his own bed for the first time, and the look on his face was priceless. According to NBC, Daeyr Neely and his mother lived in various shelter houses after being homeless for a number of years. Since he was a little child, Daeyr hasn’t had a bed of his own, but thanks to the help of the charity organization Humble Design, which works to end homelessness, he now does!
Meet 8-year-old Daeyr Neely, who went viral after the world saw his emotional reaction to getting a brand new bed. via @nbcnightlynews pic.twitter.com/eTfEahVWKM
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 13, 2018
His reaction to seeing his own bed for the first time on the video was quite touching. Daeyr enters the bedroom at the start of the video and notices the bed. For the first few seconds, his lips drops and his eyes widen in genuine surprise. As he comes to terms with the fact that this bed is genuinely his, his reaction grows even more visceral. He appeared to be having trouble accepting this gift, and as it starts to sink in, he starts crying. With his hands covering his face, Daeyr turns to accept an embrace while his shoulders tremble from emotion. His mother can be heard saying, “It’s all for you, Sweetie.”
When Daeyr was only 2 years old, his mother, Dionna Neely, lost her job as a result, and they also lost their home. After living on the streets for a while, the family checked into a shelter in Detroit. Although it would take some time, the ultimate goal was to eventually receive city money for public housing. Transferring to the shelter was not an easy process for Daeyr. Dionna said that the shift had brought him difficulties they hadn’t expected. “He started to have a little trouble in school, once we moved to the shelter. But I explained to him that we had to do this in order to get our own home,” she added.
After a while, the family was able to move out of the shelter and into their own home. It represented a big adjustment for the family and a turn for the better. Despite how wonderful it felt to finally have their own roof over their heads, the family did not have everything they needed. When it came to purchasing furnishings and furniture for their new house, they had very little to work with. For the first few months, Daeyr slept on heaps of blankets since he lacked a bed.
When the Neely family was having problems, Humble Design, a nonprofit group that works to end homelessness in various parts of the country, wanted to help. They understood that furnishing their new home would be very helpful to them. Every room in the Neely family’s new house was furnished and decorated for free. Residents of the area gave the furniture as a present. Daeyr got his own bed for the first time in years, which provided him with a memory he would never forget.