A secret weapon in fighting homelessness? Interior designers. Really.
Humble Designs is about so much more than good aesthetics.
When Temia McGuire lost her job, she also ended up losing her home.
As difficult as it was personally for the Michigan mom, she didn't focus on herself. Her main priority was her children.
"I think I was just worried about the kids, how they felt," she says.
McGuire is from Detroit, a Rust Belt city wrestling with stubbornly high rates of poverty and unemployment. Last year, a report identified more than 2,700 people as homeless, living either on the streets or in shelters.
McGuire's story isn't all that rare in the Motor City.
One of the biggest challenges facing families transitioning out of shelters and into homes of their own is the cost of furnishing them.
That's where Humble Design, a Detroit-based nonprofit that uses donated home furnishings to create warm environments and a sense of normalcy for families in those situations, comes in.
Because, as it turns out, when you're homeless, a sofa can be so much more than just a sofa.
“The reality is, when we walk into these homes, they are empty," Treger Strasberg, the group's founder, explained in a video by Ford. "No beds, no sofas, nowhere to eat, nothing.”
Strasberg works with her clients to get a good sense of what they want and need out of a home, and she takes it from there.
When McGuire finally got back on her feet, Humble Design was there to make sure her new house felt like a home.
The personal touches Humble Design provided made a world of difference to McGuire and her kids.
“Home is where the heart is," she told Upworthy. "And this is definitely a home now. It’s not just a house.”
Humble Design always provides these families something very special that many of us take for granted: beds.
"The first thing that [kids helped by Humble Design] do in the middle of the afternoon is get into their bed — every single time," Strasberg said. "These children, the most important thing to them, is getting into their bed. Think about that when you get into your bed tonight."
Colorful decor and kitchen aesthetics might not seem that vital in helping the homeless get back on the right track. But they are.
The proof is in the pudding. A mere 1% of the families that have received help from Humble Designs fall back into homelessness within a year, according to Strasberg. That's compared to 50% for families that don't receive help.
“It’s not just furniture," Strasberg explained. "It’s love, it’s pride, it’s dignity. And those things need to be restored for these families.”
Humble Design's reach has expanded dramatically. When the group formed in 2009, it was helping about one household every six weeks. Today, it helps about three homes a week, and so far has helped more than 600 families transition back into normalcy after living in shelters.
To Strasberg, Humble Design isn't just about throw pillows and paint swatches — it's about laying the groundwork for families to succeed.
"These are people who are struggling and they really just need a little bit of help," she said. "What we do is make sure they have a strong, secure base from which to build on. And that includes a safe, warm, and comfortable home.”
“Detroit is made up of all these little families that make the city what it is, and make it great. And we’re helping those little families one at a time.”
The Frenchman's monologue was absolutely spot on 
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.