AUSTIN, Texas — A Central Texas teacher living out of his car is one step closer to finding a permanent home.
Austin fourth-grade educator Bill Atkinson recently received more than 400 donations adding up to more than $16,900 of his $13,600 goal.
The teacher posted several updates to his TikTok page detailing his journey and his appreciation for the support.
"Thank you guys so much for donating, thank you to anybody else who's supported me with anything else," he posted last week.
In his most recent video on Aug. 19, Atkinson said he's starting the process of looking for a roommate.
"I'm getting there and I keep on keeping on," he said.
Bill Atkinson's story
Four-year teacher Atkinson has been living in his vehicle for more than a month now with all of his personal items and no air conditioning.
On Aug. 5, he created a GoFundMe page to help pay for his total debt, not including loans and car payments.
"Due to mistakes and bad luck my debts are to the point I cannot afford to pay rent and rent pay off my debts," he said.
Atkinson said he can't afford rent or get approved for supplemental housing through the Housing Choice Voicer (HVC). The program helps provide rental vouchers for those with yearly gross incomes of 50% compared to the average income.
In Austin, qualifiers must make $44,100 or less. Atkinson said he makes $53,000. With this, Atkinson also said he believes teachers should be paid higher salaries.
In the U.S., teachers make approximately $71,699 a year. Meanwhile, the National Education Agency said the average Texas teacher makes roughly $62,463, which is $9,000 less than others across the country.