A few days ago I walked into an empty restaurant in Pinellas Park

The operator, a tiny Vietnamese woman with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, told me she hadn’t had a customer in three hours…

I sat down. Ate. Talked to her. We laughed about the name of her place (Café Bich Nga - if you’ve seen the video, you know). She made my food herself. Whole ingredients and shortcuts. The way she’s been cooking her entire life (with love)

When I tried to pay, she refused.

I’m not exaggerating.. I had to leave cash on the counter and walk out the door before she would accept a tip from me

That’s Mrs. Lieng

I posted a video about her that night. It blew up. The next morning her restaurant was packed. The day after that, packed again. Lines out the door for the first time in I don’t know how long.

So I went back to see her. The staff was overjoyed. She hugged me. And then she sat down and told me her whole story.

She grew up in Vietnam. Built a thriving restaurant there long before she ever came to America. Her husband passed away in 2003

A few years ago she had a stroke bad enough that she lost her driver’s license over it but she never stopped working. She showed up the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, cooking every meal by hand for whoever walked through her door

Then she told me the part that wrecked me

She doesn’t have a home

Lieng the woman who refused to let me pay for my food, who runs a restaurant by herself well into her old age, who survived war, immigration, the loss of her husband, and a stroke…is homeless

I sat there and tried to make sense of it. I still can’t

This is the kind of woman who, if she was your grandma, you would move heaven and earth for. An immigrant who built a life from nothing. Who never asks for anything. Who gives free meals to strangers when her own restaurant is empty

So I’m asking on her behalf

This fund will cover 3 full years of rent for Mrs. Lieng in an apartment near her restaurant plus a security deposit, basic furnishing, and a buffer for utilities. We are not buying her a mansion. We are getting her four walls, a kitchen, and a door she can lock at night. The bare minimum she should already have

I’m a Christian. I believe the Lord put me in that restaurant for a reason. I believe the video went viral for a reason. I believe every door that has opened in the last week has opened because she deserves what comes next

She’s not asking. She wouldn’t

I am

Anything helps. $5, $50, $5,000. Share this with everyone you know.. your mom, your group chat, your church, anyone who believes good people deserve good things

If we hit the goal, Mrs. Lieng has a home for the next 3 years. Period

Let’s get her a house

100% of funds raised will go directly to Mrs. Lieng’s housing - rent, deposit, utilities, and move in costs. I will post updates with the apartment, the signed lease, and her settled in so you can see exactly where every dollar goes

I want to be fully transparent with everyone who has donated, because the trust you've placed in me is something I take seriously

My relationship to Mrs. Lieng: I'm a customer who walked into her restaurant in Pinellas Park, posted a video about it, and started this fundraiser after the video went viral and I learned she had been sleeping at the restaurant because she lost her home.

Everything that has happened since has been driven by one goal: making sure she lives the rest of her life in peace, with dignity, in a place she can call her own

How the funds will be used: I'm acting as the steward of these funds on Mrs. Lieng's behalf, with full accountability for every dollar. Every expense is being tracked and documented through my CPA, and the funds are being used exclusively for her benefit. None of this money is being used for me personally

The funds will be deployed for the following, in this order:

First, securing a home for Mrs. Lieng within walking distance of her restaurant, since she doesn't drive and wants to keep working for as long as she's able. I have local connections actively helping me find the right property at the best possible price, with every dollar negotiated to stretch this fund as far as it can go for her. Furnishing the home so she has a comfortable, dignified place to live

Second, covering her ongoing living expenses including utilities, transportation, and basic needs, structured so the funds support her for as long as possible

Third, taking Mrs. Lieng and one of her family members on a trip back to Vietnam so she can visit the original cafe she came from and reconnect with the family she has there. This is something she has spoken about, and we want to make it real for her

Why I'm handling this directly: Some intentions around Mrs. Lieng's situation may be unclear, and my responsibility is to the people who donated and to her. I'm working with a team of attorneys in Florida on the legal structure to ensure these funds are deployed for her benefit and protected accordingly. Handling the logistics directly, with full CPA accountability, allows me to move quickly, document everything, and make sure that what was raised for her actually reaches her!!

It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone who donated sees exactly where this money went and how Mrs. Lieng's life is changed by it. I'll continue to post updates here at every major step, including when the home is secured, when she moves in, and when the trip to Vietnam happens

Thank you for trusting me with this

God bless and thank you all!!

Helping Hands Ministries will manage the funds on behalf of Mrs. Lieng, with her permission